Renovating your home, whether in its entirety or piece by piece, is always an exciting experience. The place you’ve called home is changing for the better, and you’ll get even more enjoyment out of it for years to come.
However, there’s a major movement for society to start making more conscious eco-friendly decisions in everything that we do. That includes renovating our homes.
Eco-friendly alternatives are often misunderstood, and many homeowners might think they’re sacrificing the quality of their renovations in favor of social standards, but that’s simply not the case. You can start an amazing renovation with the highest quality materials and features AND help lower the impact of the project on our planet.
If you’re looking for ways to help the environment without sacrificing your dream renovation, here are the top 4 eco-friendly home renovation tips that will help you do just that.
1: Eco-Friendly Appliances and Insulation Points
These two things are lumped together because they work in unison if you do it right. First, let’s get the eco-friendly appliances out of the way.
Eco-friendly appliances are designed to minimize their resource usage without sacrificing the quality of their core functions. For example, an eco-friendly air conditioning system tends to be one of the most common choices. They use less electricity, but thanks to advanced manufacturing methods and technology, they still have better output than traditional models.
The same concept is available for most other types of appliances, too. So, whether you’re in the middle of a kitchen remodeling, a bathroom renovation, or whole house remodeling, you can find eco-friendly appliances to furnish the renovated space with and get the same benefits.
With insulation points, we’re referring to the types of doors, windows, roofing, and flooring options that you choose for the renovation.
If you purchase eco-friendly options that are designed to insulate your home more effectively, you won’t need to use your HVAC system nearly as much.
This means that you’re using less energy, and when you pair good insulation with eco-friendly appliances, you end up with an extremely eco-friendly solution that provides you with an even better experience than you get with traditional options.
That’s not all, though. Making both of these changes won’t just help the environment and our natural resources. They also save you a lot of money. After all, if you’re not using as much energy, your energy bill will drop considerably.
2: Use Materials Made with Reclaimed Items
A great way to make the project itself a lot more eco-friendly is to avoid using brand-new materials wherever possible.
Many of the construction materials you’ll need can be found in versions that use partially or fully reclaimed source materials. This includes things such as shingles, flooring materials, and even much of the wood you’ll need.
In some spots, it might be best to go with brand-new materials in traditional fashion, but in most situations, reclaimed materials provide the same results, don’t require any new natural resources to be destroyed to make them, and usually cost less.
Of course, it is important to get input from a professional to know where such materials are appropriate and where you need to take another route.
In any case, this greatly reduces the environmental impact of your renovation project.
3: Use Locally Sourced Building Materials and Products
One thing a lot of people participating in the more eco-friendly social movements often don’t think of is how products move in the modern world.
Just because something is purchased in a local store doesn’t mean it wasn’t manufactured all the way on the other side of the planet. That produces a major problem. The shipping requirements to get those non-locally produced materials to your location for the project generate a lot of emissions that really aren’t necessary.
A better idea is to look at your local suppliers who source their raw materials locally. This might mean that you have to opt for a regional wood instead of exotic options or some of the more cost-effective woods from around the world, but there are benefits beyond the eco-friendly nature, too.
With locally sourced materials, you have the opportunity to negotiate with the supplier, or the team you hire to handle the project might have a B2B relationship with the supplier and get better prices.
On top of that, it’s not just an eco-friendly move. It’s also economically friendly. Locally sourced materials require local workers to harvest and process them, and that means you’re helping support the local community.
In general, if a material is available locally, and it’s not too much of a markup compared to materials sourced on a mass scale, it’s better to get the local option.
4: Use Low VOC Paint
Almost every home renovation project is going to require paint, and this is another key area where you can improve the project’s eco-friendly rating.
In modern paint, there are chemicals known as Volatile Organic Compounds. These are chemicals that release toxic gasses into the environment, poison plant life and animals that come in contact with them, and in general, are bad for the planet.
Low VOC paint reduces or removes that problem in one of three ways.
First, the paint might use clay and other natural compounds as a base to completely remove the need for VOCs in the product.
Then, some companies use various means to remove VOCs from existing paint products to make sure those chemicals are handled and disposed of properly rather than leaving them in for the customer to deal with the problem.
Finally, some paint manufacturers simply limit how many VOCs go into the product to dramatically lower the amount of damage the product causes.
All of these options have pros and cons, and it’s best to work with a professional to ensure you’re getting the right product for your project, but they are all better than buying a product that doesn’t account for VOC at all.
Get Help with Your Eco-Friendly Home Renovation with PointVertex Construction
The market is full of sustainable opportunities when it comes to home renovation. Our sincere advice – take advantage of as many eco-friendly home renovation opportunities as you can!
Create a greener and more sustainable home for yourself and your loved ones that’ll serve as your addition to a healthier planet.
If you’re ready to start a home renovation project and want to ensure you not only get the best results but also do it in an eco-friendly manner, contact PointVertex Construction today.
