You want to build sustainably and make your house construction ecological? A great idea! More and more people are making a conscious decision to build in a way that does as little harm as possible to the environment. The ideas and measures here extend far beyond the type of house and the aspect of energy efficiency.
In this article, I'll introduce you to the top 10 tips for eco-friendly home building - so you can use them for your upcoming construction project, too. Let's go!
In advance you will find here a short Table of contents for the contribution:
- Take advantage of government subsidies
- Focus on photovoltaic and solar energy
- Building with as little space as possible
- Use sustainable heating system and insulation
- Prefer sustainable building materials
- Working with resources
- Refurbish as sustainably as possible
- Set on well or rainwater cistern
- Green the outdoor areas
- Note the orientation of the house
Notice: Sustainable building is a huge field with a wide variety of possibilities - in this article, for simplicity's sake, I'm referring primarily to the construction of a single-family home.
Why should you build sustainably?
Before we move on to the tips, a brief digression on the motives for a house that is as ecological as possible. You could probably write a pretty thick book about this alone. That's why I'll try my hand here short and compact to hold:
- Conserve resources: Both during the construction itself and in the later use of the building, you can natural resources conserve. For example, by using sustainable insulation and technology to save energy.
- Save money: Lower energy consumption, government subsidies and durable building materials - this is how save money through sustainability.
- Enjoy a beautiful home: Sustainable buildings are more minimalist, more symmetrically planned and thus much more aesthetically pleasing to look at. The inclination towards nature (whether building material, environmentally friendly technology or combination with garden) creates a comfortable atmosphere.
- Stay healthy: By using natural building materials, you provide the most natural environment possible.
- Value received: Those who opt directly for energy-efficient or future-oriented technologies when rebuilding or constructing new buildings help to preserve the value of their investments in the long term.
Can you think of other reasons for sustainable building? Then write me as always happy to comment!
10 tips for sustainable house building
Whether it's a modular house, a Swedish house or an architect's house - anyone can build their dream home in the most environmentally and resource-friendly way possible. Here are the promised 10 tips that you should take with you into the planning and construction phase!
Tip 1: Take advantage of government subsidies
To nip the "sustainability is too expensive" argument in the bud, there are a number of financial subsidies for energy-efficient, sustainable construction. Whether through the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) or the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (Bafa), for example, you can get Low-interest loans, redemption subsidies and grants.
Tip: Grant amounts change all the time - so you should always keep up to date on grants and their deadlines.
Tip 2: Rely on photovoltaic and solar energy
The idea that all the electricity you use to charge your electrical appliances or even your car, from renewable energies is already great. But it's even better if your house produces this electricity itself using a solar or photovoltaic system and the power of the sun. The investment in such a system can pay for itself after just a few years in sunny regions. By the way: Even if the sun does not shine once, the stored energy of the previous days can be used. Anyone who wants to build sustainably should definitely take this tip to heart!
Tip 3: Build to save space
The more area your own plot of land and the house standing on it take up, the more difficult it is to build a sustainable house. This is mainly due to the global population growth and the scarcity of building land - and the fact that a larger living area can be kept warm or cool per occupant must. In addition, land sealing by residential buildings and access roads contribute to soil degradation and the species extinction at.
If you want to build as ecologically as possible, for the sake of the common good, you should only take up as much space as you REALLY need.
Tip 4: Use sustainable heating system and insulation.
Heating accounts for the largest share of energy consumption during the use of a property. However, it is difficult with fossil fuels, sustainable heating! After all, this way of heating is based on limited raw materials. Instead, you should switch to green alternatives, like a Heat pumps with geothermal probe set. They extract their energy from the ground and use it for heating. If the electricity to run the pump also comes from renewable energy sources, you have an extremely environmentally friendly and long-term cost-saving option for keeping your four walls warm.
Tip 5: Prefer sustainable building materials
If you want to build sustainably, you should also rely on environmentally friendly raw materials! This means, for example, that they as renewable as possible, biodegradable, regional, durable and recyclable are. Wood, clay, straw or cellulose, for example, are among the most environmentally friendly raw materials. Often forgotten is the amount of artificial adhesives and glues that turn many building materials into hazardous waste during the next remodeling.
Tip 6: Conserve resources
Not only the building material, but the entire work on the construction should be thought out environmentally. Therefore, before you decide on a construction company, you should first Familiarize with the company philosophy. Ideally, this is a company that works primarily with regional partners. This saves long transport routes for deliveries and the associated high energy consumption.
Tip: Also a so-called Finishing house can be an ecological and affordable alternative for builders! In this case, the shell is built by the construction company, while you can do all or part of the interior work yourself. This is especially recommended if you want to decide on large parts of the building material yourself.
Tip 7: Sustainable refurbishment
Of course, the tips from this article are not only applicable to new construction. You can also sustainably renovate an entire building or parts of a building! Often, for example, the Exterior facades newly insulated or multiple glazed insulation windows installedto save energy. The renewal of the heating system is also a popular measure in the context of sustainable renovation.
Tip 8: Greening the outdoor areas
Nothing is more unsightly and environmentally damaging than a lifeless, paved-over gravel garden! Turn the garden around your newly built or remodeled house into a Mecca of biodiversity and enjoy the birdsong from the hammock. So you yourself can contribute to Stop species extinction.
How does that work? Just use the following posts, to lay the foundation for an ecological garden design already in the planning phase:
9. tip: rely on wells or rainwater cisterns
The larger the garden, the more water is needed for irrigation. So far, so logical! But to save money and protect the environmentYou can also use groundwater or rainwater from the garden hose. This works with your own well (well digger & permit required) on the property or a rainwater cistern buried in the ground.
Tip 10: Observe alignment during planning
If you want to build sustainably, you should consider the incidence of daylight and solar radiation even before you start building. For example, make sure that both your Photovoltaic system as well as large window fronts oriented to the south are to generate as much electricity as possible or to reduce heat demand. Also your Refrigerator should not be placed where it is regularly hit by the sun. Otherwise, it will constantly fight against the heat from the outside - and that eats energy and money.
Building sustainably - An investment for you and future generations
As you can see, environmentally friendly, sustainable house building is all about energy efficiency, resource-saving building materials and environmentally conscious garden design. I hope that I have been able to give you some decisive tips here that you can use directly for yourself.
Do you have any questions or suggestions? Or can you think of other tips for sustainable building? Then I'm looking forward to your comments!
Stay sustainable,
PS.: You can also get more tips in the article about sustainable living. Let you also with pleasure in the DIY Furniture Blog inspiration and take a look at my homemade upcycled oak planks dining table on. Have fun!
We would like to have a well built. Good to know that these are even very sustainable. Hopefully we will soon find a professional who can create the well.
My husband and I want to start building our house soon and sustainable construction is very important to me. I was not aware that we can also save money, since there are also government grants. I will look into it in more detail right away, thank you for the tip.
Sustainability is very important to us as a family. That's why we also attached great importance to it when building our house. Thus, I can only recommend No.9 building a well, it is practical and sustainable.
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