Green Building Renovations
How to include green materials in your renovation project
These days, we are extremely aware of the negative effect humans have had on the environment, and many of us want to use green products and maintain a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Fortunately, you can easily incorporate green building materials into your home renovations.
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Green building renovations don’t have to be expensive — you can use recycled materials, energy efficient appliances and environmentally friendly materials. Simple changes in the products you use or how you renovate can really make a difference and add value to your home. Here are three easy ways to make your project more eco-friendly.
Recycle and Reuse
You’d be surprised at the number of practical ways you could reuse a kitchen cupboard. Before throwing anything out, think of other areas in your home. Do you need more storage containers in the garage? If so, use your old cupboards leftover from your kitchen renovation. You can also consider donating any gently used items, and replace only what you absolutely need to — you’ll save money while also being green.
Buy Energy Efficient Products
Odds are, if you’re renovating a whole room, you’ll need new lighting. After you’ve made any necessary electrical wiring changes, find out what type of light bulb your fixtures take. Energy efficient bulbs, such as LEDs, can last up to 10 times longer and use up to 30 times less energy than the old incandescent bulbs. They may be more expensive up front, but you make the money back through reduced energy usage and rare replacements.
If you’re renovating your kitchen, bathroom or laundry room, consider getting energy efficient appliances and other pieces. Washers, dryers, toilets, ovens and fridges are just a few things that you can buy with government-approved high energy-efficiency. Once again, these items may be more costly, but they really pay off in the long run.
Use Green Materials
Green building materials can encompass a lot of things — recycled, natural or recyclable products are all great ways to make your home more eco-friendly. Surfaces such as floors and counters are easy to go green with; for example, bamboo floors look great, last a long time and are easy to care for.
Environmentally sound renovations are not more difficult than traditional ones and are well worth the investment in the long run, so consider the ways you can make your next home-improvement project a little greener.
Eco-friendly products and materials have already come down in price and will only continue to do so as green living becomes even more popular.
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Posted by CCHI
on Jan 8 2011. Filed under Articles & Tips, Building. Tagged as . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
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