Many property owners are devoted to environmental concerns and maintaining a low carbon footprint Investing in renewable and eco-friendly resources for our home exteriors used to be regarded as, at best an option, at worst a luxury. But in today’s ever-changing world, it’s become a necessity. Let’s find ways to do more to make the places where we live eco-friendly in the New Year.
Renewable Energy
By using renewable energy – energy from a source that isn’t exhausted when used – you reduce dependency on fossil fuels and lower your energy costs.
Solar panels
While solar panels can be installed on garages, sheds, greenhouses, and gazebos, they are typically added to the roofs of residential buildings to generate a home’s electricity. Solar panels produce clean energy, reduce energy costs, and pay for themselves over time.
Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy is an eco-friendly way to heat and cool your home. It harnesses the energy of heat stored beneath the earth’s service.
Wind Power
Wind turbines designed and installed for residential needs can lower energy bills, reduce your carbon footprint, and enhance the sustainability of your home.
Hydroelectricity
In British Columbia, more than 90% of BC Hydro’s output is produced by hydroelectric generation, which is a renewable resource that uses the flow of water passing through a pipe or floodgate to produce electricity as it pushes against the blades of a turbine.
Improve Energy-Efficiency
When making your property more eco-friendly in the New Year, incorporating ways to improve the energy-efficiency of your home is a must.
Insulation
Exterior walls of most home in British Columbia are insulated and new homes typically have an added layer of protection by way of house wrap, which is installed in between the insulation and the siding.
If your home is older and experience drafts not attributed to misfitting doors or windows, consult a siding contractor to see if adding house wrap will improve the energy-efficiency of your house.
If you have an attached garage that isn’t insulated, consider adding it to the interior walls. It will reduce heat transfer from rooms adjacent to the garage and prevent cold air from entering into the house.
Replace Old Windows and Doors
Windows and doors that leak air and make interior rooms drafty are not energy-efficient. Replace them when:
- There is a space between the door and the frame (top, bottom or side)
- Windows are still single pane or not triple glazed
- Windows fog up when cooking
- Window and door trim are experiencing wood rot
Replacing non-serviceable windows and doors also allows you to improve your home security.
Living Roof
A living roof or a green roof is an eco-friendly alternative to standard roofing materials. Using native grasses, plants, shrubs, and trees, they can last 40 to 50 years. Green roofs improve a home’s energy performance, curb appeal, and property value.
Earth-Friendly Materials
When doing home improvements or replacing exterior finishing elements on your home’s exterior, invest in sustainable and/or eco-friendly materials such as:
- Low-VOC stains for decks and Low-VOC paints for siding, entry door, and trim
- Recycled metals – aluminum, steel, and copper – for gutters and downspouts
- Reflective or light-coloured surfaces for roofs – metal, clay, wood shakes, white, light grey
- Recycled or composites for siding – wood/composite shakes, fibre cement, stone, brick, and aluminum
- Recycled asphalt and cement, reclaimed brick, gravel, stone, and pavers for driveways, paths, and patios
Eco-Friendly Landscaping
Eco-friendly landscaping is a growing trend as homeowners and property managers try to find more ways to be kinder to the environment. But even if you don’t go 100% green on your landscaping design plan, there are ways to reduce your carbon footprint while maintaining your yard.
Rain Garden
Rain gardens are a resourceful way to improve drainage on your property by including your gutters and downspouts in your landscape plan. A rain garden is a hole dug in malleable soil and then populated with deep-rooted native plants, grasses, shrubs, and low-growing trees. A rain garden in the front yard is a real curb appeal focal point.
Rain Barrels
Water harvesting allows you to reuse rainwater to water plants, wash siding, and bathe pets, just to name a few applications. Installing rain barrels underneath downspouts is a simple way to collect rain water, helping you to reduce your reliance on tap water.
Native Vegetation
Replace annuals and non-native trees with native perennials, grasses, shrubs, and trees. Native vegetation requires less maintenance and use fewer resources.
Composting
Composting as part of your landscape design is a sustainable way to manage household organic waste. To create a compost pile collect materials such as leaves, grass clippings, and shredded tree prunings, and then cover with soil from the garden. Water your compost pile once a week.
More Hardscapes
Replacing your lawn or reducing it with artificial grass is a cost-effective way to create environmentally responsible outdoor living spaces. Using eco-friendly materials, hardscapes such as patios, walkways, retaining walls, driveways, and fire pits reduce a yard’s lawn size. Non-living hardscapes don’t have to be watered!
