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[H1228]How To Green Your Home
by Susan Banks Sr, Sus
A home that is green is a home built and run with the environment in mind. With the threat of global warming becoming more urgent everyday, the average family needs to do their part to make as little impact as possible. Going green is a way to do this and the first place to start is with your home. You can find a lot of home supplies from bathtubs to faucets at fuzing.com. Whether you are constructing your toilet or your kitchen, it will help you in the long run if you build it from an environment friendly perspective. The greener your home will be; the healthier environment it will have. You can use environment friendly things from paints to drapes and other objects that will add to the overall décor of your home.

Possible Building Materials You Can Use

If you are looking to build a new home, think with the environment in mind. You can use renewable resources such as lightweight concrete, manufactured, stone, straw, wood or earth. Each one of these materials has its own merits and disadvantages, but they all have the environment in mind.
* Earth is an abundant resource. What can be more environment friendly than the very dirt beneath your feet? You can choose from earthen materials kind to the environment such as cob, adobe and rammed earth.
* Lightweight concrete has been used for building for the last 50 years in the United States. Its strength is not as great as the usual concrete used for construction, but you can rest assured that it will weather the elements just as well. Advantages to using this building material is that can be used for insulation, it has great fire resistant properties, it will require a smaller foundation and there isn’t as great a need for reinforcement of structural steel. This impacts the environment in a positive way.
* Manufactured building materials appeal to those who have concern for the environment but don’t want to live in a home made of dirt, tree parts, straw, etc. Usually a home made with this type of material once built will make an excellent home that is energy efficient with thought to the environment.
* Wood is one of the most versatile materials for building. It used to be considered a sustainable material for construction, but with the over harvesting of forests worldwide, the world’s greed has outpaced the capabilities of forests to regenerate. You can build a green home with an eye to the environment by using stick framed, timber framed and log wood if wood is what you must have.

Styles of Green Homes You Can Choose

There are quite a few styles of green homes available. Styles can range from conventional, to rounded, earth-sheltered and organic. Each style has many plans you can choose from to make your home unique, comfortable and concerned with the environment.

* A conventional styled home typically means that it will fit the normal concept of a home according to the opinions of the Western world. Homes that are considered conventional usually have vertical walls and a rectilinear floor plan. Styles that are considered conventional can include traditional, contemporary, bungalow, Victorian or southwestern to name just a few.
* A home that is rounded or curved in appearance is considered rounded styling. This means that the plan for the house has a significant part that is curved or rounded. It is said that when you use natural materials and this style of home you will feel in touch with nature to the extent that your home feels like you are part of the environment itself. This style of home is very environment friendly.
* Earth sheltered styles of green homes can be situated either partially or entirely into the earth. There are many advantages to you and to the environment when you choose this style of home. When you go about six feet below the surface, you will notice that the temperature only fluctuates a few degrees all year round. The benefits to this are that it will require much less energy to heat and to cool your home, saving the environment from the depletion of natural resources.

Building green can mean a lot to the environment. The environment and its natural resources is something that needs to be passed on to our children. If we don’t start thinking towards the future there will be nothing left of the environment to pass on.

Article highlights: Building materials that can be used to construct a green home. The different styles of green homes you can choose when you decide to build a green home.

Interesting Fact: A recent report states that with all the huge costs associated with the building of a new home, there is no significant difference in the price of building green.

Read the following top 10 ways to green your home.

1. Upgrade to greener appliances. Make your home energy efficient by upgrading to greener appliances. Replace old appliances with energy-efficient models that are Energy Star rated to scale down your energy bill. According to the Energy Star site, use of energy-efficient appliances in just one in 10 homes is equal to planting 1.7 million new acres of trees.

2. Temperature control. More than 50% of a home's energy bill is from heating and cooling appliances. Moderating the thermostat according to the weather goes a long way in reducing energy consumption. Other energy saving methods include using a modern furnace, cleaning its air filter every month and the use of ceiling fans instead of air conditioners.

3. Saving water. There are hundreds of ways one can save water and reduce energy consumption. A few include fitting faucets with aerators and installing water efficient low-flow toilets.

4. Clean with green products. Buy green household cleaners that are made of natural, non-toxic substances instead of toxic ones. Carpet and window cleaners containing grain alcohol, detergents made of coconut or other plant oils etc. are bio-friendly.

5. Energy-efficient lighting. Replace incandescent bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs). CFL bulbs use 66% less energy and last 10 times longer.

6. Use recycled paper. Whenever you buy paper, get 100 % post-consumer recycled paper. These consume less virgin pulp and keep waste paper from ending up in landfills. You can also save more trees by opting out of junk mail lists. Using unbleached paper is more eco-friendly as the bleached paper process results in the creation of harmful byproducts. Also, eschew paper and plastic bags and carry your own cloth bags for shopping.

7. Bamboo floors. Bamboo floors are more environmental friendly than hardwood floors. Bamboo matures in four to six years while it takes 50 to 100 years for typical hardwoods.

8. Shun plastics. Plastics are not bio-degradable. They produce harmful greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming when processed, burned or dumped into landfills. The best way is to avoid plastics, the next best thing is to reuse and recycle them.

9. Eco-paint. Use environmentally safe paints that are organic and solvent-free to paint your home.

10. Green your garden. Avoid synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides. Instead use organic manure such as compost and non-chemical pest control methods.
Article Source : How Does Recycling Effect The Environment

About Author
Both Susan Banks Sr & Real Estate Advisor are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Susan Banks Sr has sinced written about articles on various topics from Vegetarian Diet, Modelling and Home Security. Susan is a monthly contributing writer to Fuzing.com where you will find tens of thousands of for. Susan Banks Sr's top article generates over 550000 views. to your Favourites.

Real Estate Advisor has sinced written about articles on various topics from Real Estate, LASIK Surgery and Home Improvement. . Real Estate Advisor's top article generates over 74000 views. to your Favourites.
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