How to Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly

by Terry Kruse

While many can associate eco-friendly trends with a certain look that isn’t as desirable as you might want in your luxury home, there are many ways to improve the environmental impact of your home without losing style. Here are a few options to consider.

Install a green roof. While we see these on many corporate buildings, have you considered adding one to your home? Not only is it helping purify the air in your neighbourhood and giving you constant access to fresh food and flowers, but it can also become a staple that guests look forward to visiting every time they come to your home. It helps the environment while looking amazing, which is a win-win. And if doing a section of the roof isn’t practical, consider one of the hottest trends this year, a green wall.

Switch to geothermal heating and cooling. This technology is sleeker than solar panels but provides the same eco-friendly effect for your home. It instantly adapts to the weather conditions outside ensuring your home is always comfortable no matter what time of year it is.

Use sustainable and locallysourced materials. If leaving a small footprint is important to you, when you are renovating, go as local and sustainable as possible. You won’t sacrifice style or quality, but the environment will thank you.

Use only LED lighting. The most environmentally-friendly source of lighting, LED will transform your home from an energy sucker to an energy saver. Even if you prefer to keep the lights on, with LED lighting you will still have a smaller environmental footprint than any other form of lighting. It also completely transforms the feel of your home, with its softer, sleeker look.

Get LEED Certified. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the gold standard when it comes to environmental friendliness. It is used around the world to recognize homes that go above and beyond to be carbon neutral and environmentally friendly. Homes have to be built to their specific high standards in order to earn this title, but the best construction teams are already working to meet and exceed these rules.