Before you hire contractors, you need an efficient building design so you have a guide on how your home or business establishment would look like. An efficient building design means considering energy-efficient alternatives to ensure that you reduce your structure’s carbon footprint. This will then make your property environmentally friendly and not to mention the savings you get in the long run.
Thus, you may have to hire competent and reputable building designers who have expertise in designing efficient buildings. In addition, you also have to be involved throughout the design process so that you can ensure your preferences are being followed. With such, you also need to know the following tips that should be in an efficient building design:
- Consider Insulation
Insulation is an important consideration when designing an efficient building. Whether you live in an area with a predominantly hot or cold climate, you’d benefit greatly from having a well-insulated home. This means getting the proper heat it needs during cold seasons. And come hot seasons, insulation can block extreme heat from entering your property premises.
Without proper insulation, a considerable amount of the heat inside your property eventually escapes through the wall, and some passes through the roof. You’ll need to avoid this from happening when you’re living in a cold country. With this much heat escaping from your property, you’ll use a lot of energy to keep your home warm.
Centralized heating units can take up so much energy which will inevitably increase your energy bill. But when you put up a sound insulation system, you can reduce energy consumption; therefore, reducing utility costs.
If you want to buy insulated panels for your home, click here and you’ll find a vast array of selections you can choose from. Or you can also opt to work with professionals in spray foam insulation San Antonio to have your building or home properly insulated.
- Invest In Solar Panels And Solar Water Heaters
Another excellent building design to make your property efficient is to invest in solar-powered panels and water heaters. These panels are excellent sources of renewable energy for your property. They can provide power for pretty much all your appliances including your heating systems, air conditioning, and so much more.
Moreover, solar panels can increase the price of your property. So, if you’re building a structure that you’re going to sell, it’s best to install these panels. That way, you can attract more home buyers since this is now a trend that most people want in their new home.
If solar panels don’t fit your budget, another great source of renewable energy is solar-powered water heaters. It’s said that water heating systems running on electricity account for a considerable portion of one’s bills, having a solar-powered water heater could significantly lower your expenses.
- Use Energy-Efficient Building Materials
It’s also an excellent option to use energy-saving materials. They aren’t only beneficial in saving electricity, but they can also create an overall more comfortable and safer property. With such, here’s a list of building materials that are said to be eco-friendly that you can use to create a greener and more energy-efficient property:
- Plastic Composite Lumber: Unlike typical wood, which can rot and grow molds, plastic composite lumbers have fewer chances of developing such. This material uses an even combination of plastic wastes and wood fibers, making it less toxic and impenetrable to mold.
- Low-E Windows: Low-E windows are high-quality windows that keep your property cool throughout the summer while blocking infrared radiation. During the freezing winter season, Low-E windows also help you maintain a comfortable temperature by trapping the heat inside a building.
- Recycled Steel: Traditionally, houses take up a lot of trees to build. But you can commission a similar quality property by using steel amounts equal to six scrap automobiles instead of wood. Moreover, steel is recyclable which makes it an excellent green alternative. Apart from being eco-friendly, steel also does a great job in making your property earthquake-proof.
- Optimize Cross-Ventilation
Don’t forget cross-ventilation, although it greatly depends on the wind to cool your property. There’s a pressure contrast between wind-facing and leeward walls whenever wind enters the property.
Having windows on opposite sides of the building will enable the cool air to pass through from the wind-facing opening. The warm air will then be absorbed from the leeward opening. This cycle creates passive cooling inside the home, although it’s highly dependent on your property’s size and location. This means that cross-ventilation tends to be unreliable if not planned out correctly.
To ensure that cross-ventilation remains effective, you must check the location of your building: an area with constant summer winds is a perfect example. The wind-facing wall must be placed perpendicular to the summer wind. On top of that, the property’s structure should be narrow to make sure that fresh air is evenly distributed inside the house.
Too many partitions inside your home might affect the airflow leaving the cross-ventilation system ineffective. So that’s something you want to consider when implementing a cross-ventilation system.
- Switch To An Automated Lighting System
Your lighting can also be a great energy-efficient building design. By automating your lighting system, it can automatically shut itself off after designated hours. You won’t be forgetting to switch off your lights anymore, especially if you’re too busy to remember.
Instead of using the traditional switch lights, you can transition to lighting automation systems. These systems use software that intelligently senses and records data like energy consumption, temperature, occupancy, and ambient light. These data will then be stored in your system, making it known how to control the lighting given various scenarios in your building. Or you can also customize their settings to fit every room’s preference, depending on how you use each room.
Conclusion
There are many ways to make your property efficient and it’s said to all start with the building design. While you can still add efficient features after its construction, you may be spending more than necessary when altering your current electric components or renovating some areas to fit such features.
Thus, it’d be best to start integrating green practices during the planning stage early on. With such, it’ll be easier for you to add more energy-savings materials and design without spending extra money.
