27 Jun 8 Ways to Make Your Custom Home More Sustainable

Building a custom designed home presents you with plenty of opportunities. Sure, there are seemingly endless decisions you must make but when you’re in the driver’s seat you have the ability to do everything your own way. That’s great, especially when it comes to making your home environmentally-friendly. Here we offer 8 ways to make your custom home more sustainable.

8 Ways to Make Your Custom Home More Sustainable

Sustainability is a word that gets tossed around a lot these days. In custom home design, many people confuse the word with simply using ecologically sound materials. However when you make your custom home more sustainable you’re approaching your build in a holistic way. Using sustainable materials means you’re prioritizing energy efficiency, conserving resources and making your environment healthy for all who live there. 

When you make your custom home more sustainable you don’t forego elegance or luxury. The countless aspects of sustainable home design enhance your quality of living, enrich your space and ultimately save you money. All very good things. Here are our suggestions to make your custom home more sustainable.

1. Invest in The Best Insulation

Perhaps this suggestion isn’t as glamorous as some that follow however when you invest in high-quality insulation you’re opting for one of the most significant ways to protect your home environment and avoid wasting precious energy. When you use sustainable insulation it’s much different from traditional insulation. For one thing it is made without chemicals or additives. This isn’t just ecologically sound but also better for your health. The air inside your home is free from the common ozone-depleting chemicals found in traditional insulation.

2. Look for Repurposed and Locally Sourced Materials

Simply using locally sourced materials reduces your carbon footprint. Finding a way to incorporate recycled, repurposed and reused materials is a great way to make your custom home more sustainable and gives the design more character. Our favorite way to use repurposed and locally sourced materials?

• Reclaimed wood for siding and interior walls
• Reclaimed masonry, bricks and stone
• Recycled drywall
• Recycled roofing materials
• Reclaimed metal

3. Energy Efficient Doors and Windows

Todays energy efficient doors and windows make your custom home more sustainable by improving the comfortability while conserving gas and electric. Most energy assessments reveal the biggest loss of heat and AC is around the windows and doors. By choosing windows and doors with a star rating you’re opting for the most efficient products. 

4. Invest in Energy Efficient Appliances

All of your homes appliances can drain your wallet and our natural resources pretty quick if they aren’t energy efficient. From choosing the best HVAC system you can find to installing a sustainable tankless water heater every system and appliance in your home has a huge impact. Here are some other appliances that make your custom home more sustainable:

• Refrigerator
• Dishwasher
• Clothes Washer and Dryer
• Oven/Stove
• Car Charging Station
• Ceiling Fans
• Lighting

Again, look for the energy star rating or go here for some suggestions. 

5. Make Your Custom Home More Sustainable With Solar Energy

Harvesting your own energy from the sun reduces reliance on non-renewable energy sources such as fossil fuels and coal, both of which emit carbon which impacts the environment in many significant ways. Clean, renewable and sustainable solar energy, harvested through solar panels which blend seamlessly with your custom home design, lowers your utility bills and reduces the risk for power outages. 

6. Eco-Friendly Composites 

Whether you use composite wood to create an enviable outdoor space or in place of non-renewable hardwood flooring you’re making the earth-kind choice. These durable wood products are made from scraps of wood and polymers. This means you get the look of wood with the durability of engineered wood. More bang for your buck and the sustainable choice.

7. Green Countertops

We aren’t talking about the color-unless that’s what you want. We mean incorporating environmentally sound countertops in your kitchen and bath. There are several options to choose from that repurpose materials such as glass, porcelain, quartz and other stone scraps and blend them with polymers to create gorgeous low-maintenance countertops.

For those who prefer a butcher block countertop there are many options that use composite wood and don’t require the maintenance of a solid wood countertop.

8. Sustaining Landscaping With Rainwater

Watering a lawn or maintaining seasonal landscaping in the heat of a Quad Cities summer is so wasteful of one of our most precious resources. But what can you do during those periods when rain just inset in the forecast? 

A rainwater collection system helps cut own on use of municipal water, lowers your monthly water bill and helps you make your custom home more sustainable. Use the rainwater you’ve collected to water outdoor plants and lawn or go all out and add a rainwater collection system with a filtration system built in. That way you know the water you’ve collected is safe for your family and your pets.

So Many More Options

There you have it, our top 8 ways to make your custom home more sustainable. For more on how you can build the custom home design of your dreams please contact Seiffert Custom Homes.