Act Green Blog

Archive for the ‘Green Homes’ Category

Primarily, you should understand that green roofing is a form of covering the roof with vegetation on a water proof membrane wholly or partially. Established around 30 years ago in Germany it finds its popularity more in Europe than in US.

The following can be listed while counting on the benefits of green roofs:

• Environmental advantage: As it exists on the roof i.e. on the top of a house or building it helps generating good quality air replacing the layer of pollution in the air. It acts as an anti-storm agent, minimizing the damages from storm. Also it helps the surroundings look beautiful.

• Advantage to Bio-diversity- experiments have shown that green roofs help in increasing the number of rare species found around plants.

• As it creates stable temperature, the need for air conditions as well as heater in summer and winter decreases, hence lowering down on the energy consumption enormously.

Are you planning to build your dream home? Well, if your answer is in the affirmative, you must go in for an eco-friendly home. By going green, you do not only do your bit for Mother Earth but also do yourself a huge favor.

If you want to design an eco-friendly home, it is important that you do your math. You will have to keep in mind that an eco-friendly house will cost at least 25% more than building a house with standard constructions. Next, choose eco-friendly materials to build your house. Opt for materials that are natural, need minimal processing time and are sustainable. Always use safe, non-toxic materials.

As far as the flush, showers and sinks are concerned, always install water saving devices. Install a rain water tank and use the water to water your gardens and flush toilets. Try to use sun energy as much as possible. For energy efficiency it is important that you insulate your new house properly. Buy energy efficient appliances only.

Are you in search of trendy home décor? Then it is advisable to go green as it is trendy, stylish and also saves your surroundings. Let’s start with the living room—the place of your relaxation and entertainment.

Use the organic fibers like cotton curtains for the door and windows. If you have a fetish for rugs, go for the hand knit oriental ones. Furniture and flooring made of timber are both stylish and eco friendly. Bamboo accessories are also a good choice. You can place indoor potted plants like cactus or peace lily. These plants look chic and also help to purify the ambience.

Pick up those lights which will be energy saving, like the LED and solar lights. They help to save and conserve a lot of energy.If possible use LED televisions, as they are eco friendly. Create decorative pieces from wasted materials like papers. While painting, go for the colors which are free of the VOCs i.e. the volatile organic compounds.

Green homes are the way to the future and you need careful deliberation and planning when you are building a green home. A lot of people think that building a green home will cost more than a regular home and this is true to some extent. However with proper planning building an affordable green home is not that difficult.

The first thing that you need to do is plan the pre construction actions. Being your own Project Manger has several benefits and you will be able to cut down on a whole lot of expenses. Work with the local city hall to get the necessary permits and make sure that you hire freelance engineers, designers and estimators.

If you want to build an affordable green home make sure that you invest in the correct features. It might be right consuming to select all the right features but it will prove beneficial in the long run. Install solar roof panel. They are expensive but will last well over two decades.

With the increasing concern for the earth’s environment, these days living a green lifestyle has become quite a fad. You can do your bit to contribute to the health of the environment. Everyone is getting their own ideas and using these ideas to convert their home in to a green living space. So how do you ensure that your kitchen is a green one?

Obviously the best way for you is to add on to the appliances which are based on the green principle. Appliances have always been one of the major sources of environmental damage. That is why it is a wise decision to change these appliances and get instead the eco friendly versions which save on energy and are restricted on letting out the CFCs. To get eco friendly appliances, it is a good idea to search for Energy Star appliances.

In case it is not possible to get these appliances right now, you can make the existing appliances in your kitchen eco friendly. For example, make sure your refrigerator is not using too much of energy by setting the right temperature. Convert your kitchen in to a green kitchen.

Boiler and radiator heating systems are efficient machines or appliances when it comes to greening the environment. The appliances are long in vogue and are becoming popular with each passing day.

Boilers and radiators are big positive addition to the green campaign. Nevertheless, boiler or radiator heating system helps in reducing your home bills and heating costs and improving your home’s energy efficiency. Well, if these are the facts that you are interested in then do read on for further info to going green with the choice of boilers and radiators.

With installing a boilers and radiators you can expect to improve your housing system. Going green can helps in a major way. If you can make that initial expenditure upfront, you are sure to enjoy a happy and safe future. An efficient green process helps to significantly reduce home energy costs for future. If you ever estimate the amount you spend on the bills of home appliances you will be surprised to see the amount getting reduced by a huge margin once you adopt the green process.

The major role of any green home is to be responsible, healthy, energy efficient and durable. In any such attempt to greening your home a sliding roof or wall is important. So if you are planning to green your sliding installation, then you can look to the following points for help and encouragements.

Brick or stone siding is highly preferred and ranks at the top and offers some suitable solutions, pertaining to greening of sliding walls/roofs, that you can opt for. Why is this whole process so important? Well, going green has a two fold advantage. It improves energy efficiency through use of bricks and stones and, because of its high quality, has a long term effect. There is no better sliding alternative than a brick or stone. Compared to other composite siding agents like vinyl (which fails in all possible criterion mentioned above) or other natural agents like the wood siding (which harms the environment in more ways than protecting it, like deforestation) brick and stone siding scores far ahead of others and qualifies as a better choice.

With global warming becoming a serious issue it is important for the entire citizen around the world to wake up to the call and contribute in some way or the other towards the cause of the environment. One of the popular way to reducing the pollution is by going green.

Well, as all charity begins at home, you too can do your bit in the bid to make the world a safe place to live in. You can make few necessary adjustments in order to make your home free from heat. A good window or a door is important. If you are still using the old single paned window it is time to change as it heats up your rooms by 50% and account to a major percent of heat loss in winter. So the best draw would be to go for multi paned windows properly installed, as lot depends on proper installation.

Gutters aren’t on your top agenda when to plan to go green. Considering the purpose it serves many people think it is not worth it to invest in such a frivolous place. But think again. Given the purpose a gutter serves it is important to make it eco friendly and green.

Looking at the very basic, you may see that the amount of toxic a gutter or a drain carry can easily cause environmental hazards.So it is necessary to revolutionize your drainage system and one way to do so is by going green. Green drainage systems make for healthy homes. Moreover can help save money big time by preventing expensive moisture/water hazards in basements and attics. It also gives a peace of mind as you know you have invested on something substantive and have secured the future. It is a costly process alright, but nothing compared to the cost of your life. It is worth spending on green gutter because it is long term investment and for secured future.

Well, a roof is an important aspect of your house. Hence, every effort must be made to make it energy efficient. The roof is the only part of your house that is directly exposed to the outer heat, rain and storm. So you need to protect it and make is energy efficient.

Green slate roofing is a good option to consider. It is an easy process and highly efficient. It required minimal maintenance and has high longevity. If going green is your motto, then there is no better way than this. Slate roofing has been largely accepted across the spectrum due to the simplicity and longevity of the process.

Green natural slate roofing has a win-win case. It is, on one hand an efficient process which helps you to protect environment thus enabling you to contribute towards the environmental cause and secondly the energy saving can actually transform into low electricity bills thus low pressure on your wallet.