Building an Energy Efficient Home

There are many ways to help the environment: switching to renewable energy, cycling to work, buying stuff produced locally, adopting a vegan diet, recycling etc. If you are considering building a new house, then building an energy efficient home is definitely a major step towards a greener lifestyle.

Building an energy efficient home can suit different budgets and architectural styles. Best of all, it will require less power to heat and to cool the house throughout its lifecycle. In other words, you�ll probably be saving some money and treading more lightly on this planet at the same time. It�s a win-win situation.

There are a few main factors and opportunities to be considered when building an energy efficient home. According to toolbase.org, opportunities to build an energy efficient home are to be found in all areas of the home. These include reducing space heating and cooling as well as water heating loads, insulation, ventilation and air infiltration moisture barriers, the cardinal orientation of windows and walls, sealing of windows and doors, etc. In short, the elements that constitute the so-called �thermal envelope� of the house are the most important aspect when building an energy efficient home.

The choice of equipment, such as air conditioner, furnace, heater, piping etc., also plays a role when building an energy efficient home. Choose adequately sized equipment that requires as little energy as possible - look out for the Energy Star seal if you live in the United States, or the equivalent of that in other countries. This also applies to lighting equipment and domestic appliances, which should be as energy efficient as possible. Once all these opportunities have been tapped in order to reduce the domestic energy requirement, install a photovoltaic system (PV) which will further reduce the need for power coming from the grid. You may also consider a domestic wind turbine should your home be in the right geographical location and have enough space around it.