Sustainable House Design Ideas
According to Fontan Architecture, a sustainable house is a home that has the least possible negative impact on our environment. Sustainability means energy efficiency, avoiding environmental toxins, and responsibly using materials and resources while having a positive physical and psychological effect on its inhabitants.
What we build matters, and so does how we make it. Building with sustainability in mind should be standard for a twenty-first-century home. In this article, we will outline 21 tips for a sustainable house design.
Location For A Sustainable Home Design
Choosing a location is the first step in building a sustainable home. When possible, consider the following issues.
Transportation: Building a home within walking distance of public transportation will reduce your impact on our environment. Living in New York City makes this very easy for me, but it may not always be an option for you.
Infrastructure: The availability of utilities and infrastructure will vary. If you can use existing infrastructure, you are off to a good start in reducing your environmental impact.
Sensitive or Hazardous Sites: Try to avoid hazardous areas like flood zones. If you build in a high-risk zone, ensure the home is designed to withstand the hazard. Do you know what isn’t green? Building your house twice is not sustainable.
Size; Smaller Houses Are More Efficient
Only some people interested in sustainable house design will go down this route, but smaller houses are far more efficient. Building a smaller home will reduce your material use and energy needs. A larger space will use more materials and require more energy for heating and cooling. Think about your needs and try not to go overboard with the size of your house. Smaller houses are inherently more efficient and less wasteful.
Orientation of Your House for Natural Light and Heat
Orientation is important for sustainable homes. If you live in a cold climate in the Northern Hemisphere, you can take advantage of the sun by having more windows facing south. If you build a long wall with windows facing south, you maximize direct sunlight in the winter. The sun will help heat your home and bring in natural light. You want to avoid too many windows facing west, which will give lots of glare and provide heat in the summer. If you have windows facing west, you can plant a large tree to block some uncomfortable sunlight.
Layout Affects Energy Use in a Home
Did you know that igloos are very energy-efficient house designs? An igloo is built in a cold climate with a shape that minimizes surface area. The reduced surface area reduces interior heat loss.
Building a very wide and spread out house will have more heat loss and less efficiency than a compact house. Building taller can be more efficient than building wider in some cases. A cube or a sphere are very efficient shapes. There will always be trade-offs in sustainable house design. However, you don’t have to make your home resemble an igloo (unless you want to)! The idea is that a compact design is better than a spread-out one. A compact two-story house will tend to be more efficient than a one-story spread-out house. For example, if you want to build a 2,000-square-foot house, making two stories with 1,000 sq ft per story will most likely be more efficient than building one story of 2,000 sq ft.
