Effective Tips to Make a Green Home

by PNNL – Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Effective Tips to Make a Green Home

With the increase in pollution and higher rate of health issues, an increased stress has been laid on the use of environment-friendly technologies in all aspects of life. Even the construction of homes has laid stress on energy-efficient solutions to build green homes that are beneficial both for human life and the environment.

Making a green home has become easy and reasonable in the present scenario. It does not take much of efforts and cost to trace some of the effective heating and cooling devices that will help to build a green home. Here are some of the excellent tips to make your home eco-friendly:

The first step to make your home green is to build walls that are well insulated. Such walls maintain a healthy balance of heat flow out and in of the house during winters and summers respectively. This dramatically reduces the amount of energy required for heat flow in and out.

In the present scenario many people use motion sensors at the entrance of their homes. These motion sensors detect all kind of movements and turn on the interior lights on detection. This not only detects the movement of thieves or unknown person into the compound but also detects your movement. So ensure that the lights of your house are switched off. Switch on one light at night or when you are not at home.

It’s a wonderful idea to replace all the bulbs and tube lights with compact fluorescent and light emitting diodes. These light systems consume less power and produce less heat. It is also advisable to avoid any use of fancy coverings over these lights because that will obstruct the way of illumination and you’ll require switching on more lights to get the desired light.

Check all the appliances that you use in your house. Make sure that all have green labels that are mostly characterized by star rating. There is two, three, four, or five star rating imprinted on the electronic appliances that give an indication of how energy-efficient the appliances are. If the appliance has a five-star rating it is most energy-efficient and consume lesser power than the others who have two, three, or four star ratings.

Use of solar panels can also reduce the amount of energy and power consumed. Solar heaters are comparatively expensive than traditional heaters but are cost-effective in the long run. Install these panels on the roof or terrace as they will heat up using the energy of the sunlight and will save lots of energy.

Upgrade your windows and make them energy-efficient. Use glass that reflects heat or else the air-conditioner in your room will consume more power to cool your room. This is because normal glass traps heat. Replace windows if they are old and have a cut or a leakage. Windows with a leak allow the entry of wind, rain water, and heat into the room that forces the electronics like heater and air-conditioner to consume more power for proper functioning.

Last but not the least, one most important step towards a green home is to create a surrounding that is full of greenery. Use plants, flowers, and other greens wherever possible to ensure more savings on energy and power.

FEB 12, 2010 MANIFESTO FOR A MASSIVE SHIPPING CONTAINERS DONATION FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO HAITI TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY SHELTER By: Arch. Richard Moreta Castillo HAITI IS IN DIRECT NEED OF A CLEAR PLAN FOR IMMEDIATE RELIEF AND LONG-TERM PLANNING. The recent catastrophe provides the opportunity to offer desperately-needed solutions to develop master-planning, as opposed to providing sporadic aid. In the cities affected by the January 12th earthquake, everything needs to be demolished and rebuilt to comply with international safety standards. If Haiti does not receive this help, it risks becoming an entirely failed state. Haitians need a complete rebuilding of their entire infrastructure, they need a security framework, and they need financial and business structures to be developed in a collaborative way with them so that they are able to regain their basic rights as human beings. The most serious immediate concern is two-fold: to proactively plan for heavy risks of flooding once the rainy season starts, while also anticipating upcoming hurricanes. The larger issue in reconstruction efforts is also to analyze the type of construction method most appropriate to disaster relief, speediness of operation as well as seismic code compliance to minimize future risks. Green Container International Aid (GCIA) designed a series of viable and cost-effective solutions, in close consultation with the local population. We request that the international community and governments mobilize …