Are you the kind of person that wants to create a home of your dreams? Perhaps a cozy cottage in the woods or an ultra-modern masterpiece with floor-to-ceiling windows? We all yearn for a place of our own that we make our unique home. Not only that, but a habitat that is eco-friendly and will be low costs to keep in maintenance and in energy bills.
Green house designs let you construct the house of your desires, but at the same time protect the planet.
You can view our list of sustainable house plans and give us a call today to get started with designing your green home.
Keep reading!
Why Choose Sustainable House Plans?
Sustainable house plans use less energy and resources than a regular house.
That reduces their carbon footprint, and saves you money on energy. Here are some benefits of eco-friendly house plans:
- Save on energy – ENERGY STAR appliances, LED lighting and high efficiency HVAC equipment will save your household hundreds of dollars in energy costs. Placing insulation properly and sealing the openings will stop heat or cool air from escape.
- Green energy- With solar panels and wind turbines you can generate clean electricity right at home. This makes your home smaller and less carbon-intensive, while also lowering your use of fossil fuels.
- Conserve water- Low flow fixtures, rain-trapping, native drought-tolerant plants save water.
- Eco-friendly materials – With local, renewable and recycled building materials that will last and not fill landfills from costly repairs to you and to the earth. Why not work with the earth and not against it? There are ways we can work in a synergistic relationship with nature and reduce our impact on the earth.
- Passive solar design – Where we orient our house to the sun and make our window and door openings to absorb heat with Argon gas filled low E openings in correlation with thermal mass exteriors and thermal absorbing flooring to help heat your home in winter. The same aspect to the sun with proper shading in summer can fill your living space with natural light and reflect the heat out in the warmer months.
Your home is the best you can do for Earth. It minimizes emissions, protects the environment and sets an example to others.
What To Expect on Eco-Friendly House Plans?
So, where to go for the right sustainable house plan? Global warming is an existential issue to all us that live upon this precious earth, so it is natural that every architectural firm and building material manufacturer to taut that their designs and materials are “green”, but are they really?
Here’s how to choose the right green home design that’s right for you:
- Indicate green amenities- In plan reviews consider energy conservation, water efficiency, renewable power, and sustainable materials. Ask yourself are the materials used in this plan going to be here and serving the needs of generations to follow me or are they going to be in landfills in 10, 20 or 100 years from now? Are these floor plans and details going to serve future generations? Do these plans include a high thermal mass envelope that will reduce energy consumption now and down the road? Does the heating and cooling system utilize simple principles of thermal dynamics like natural convection air flow and direct energy from the sun, the earth and wind? There are simple elements that always work like solar thermal collectors that have been in use for 100’s of years. Ground air and geothermal cooling in correlation with natural convection always works.
- Does this plan use energy systems that utilize alternative renewable sustainable energy instead of fossil fuels and anticipates innovations like the affordability of using hydrogen fuel cells which should already be in use for electric generation. This eventuality can be anticipated and easily utilized and open a way for you to be energy independent and sustainable. (See our previous article about
- Think of your climate – Make sure your plans anticipate for your local temperature, rain, wind and sunlight conditions. Make sure your plans are regionally appropriate, like in using materials and building techniques that are appropriate to your local environment both in renewable natural resources and anticipate natural disasters likely to your region. This is becoming quickly a more critical concern. We cannot even just anticipate based on 100 year events because of global warming. More than ever such concerns as water tables and flooding make it more significant that if the 100 year water mark is at say 10 feet then your plan and the location of your lot anticipates building above the flood plain at 4-8’ above the 100 year flood marker.
- Choose a green architect – Look for designers registered with the American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment. Their portfolio will showcase eco-homes.
- Check certifications- Check plans that are green-building stamped, such as LEED, Energy Star, NAHB Green, Passive House Institute US, etc. As mentioned in previous posts be cautious about certifications as LEED, because some building science chooses to be ignorant about such things as regionally appropriate materials and often serve the best interests of material manufacturers as in planned obsolescence which serves their marketing concerns than in what is in your best interest and future generations.
- What is most important is developing a relationship of trust with an architectural designer who listens to you and unbiasedly gives you solid sensible advice that you can trust serves your best interests. Also look for a designer who has solid field work experience and knows what designs and techniques can be successfully rendered on the jobsite and in being put together as the designer intends.
- This means also detailed work plans that are easy to read and comprehended by all the crafts practitioners who put your house together. This is a critical difference of a well planned custom house and a conscientious builder as compared to a typical spec house. We in our experience of remedial and remodeling existing houses have seen that it appears as though no one was in charge. For instance, when called upon to finish out a basement we have had to re-do all the HVAC ductwork and plumbing in order to have adequate ceiling heights. We have even seen where engineered floor trusses have been cut through and subsequently structural integrity has been seriously compromised.
- Idea books – Browse idea books such as The Greened House Effect or The New Ecological Home for beautiful, sustainable homes that also work.
- Search by geography – Look for sustainable house plans based on your state or metro region. Sustainability at a local level will be built-in.
Learn your sustainability goals and then seek plans based on your green home idea. The perfect ecologically sound design is out there!
Sustainability Features You Would Need
Maybe you’ve found a traditional house plan that you love, but wish it included more green elements. It’s possible too! However, be careful about asking a professional designer to modify copyrighted plans which is illegal. Most the time the designer will have stock plans for you to review and of which he/she can rightfully modify. This can for many, be the cost effective route to your own custom home.
It is easy to retrofit many sustainability options to existing house plans. Discuss options with your architect or builder.
Some easy “green” house plan suggestions:
- Replace windows with triple-glazed ENERGY STAR models. Place a couple of windows more on the south side for passive solar heat.
- Add overhangs or roof extension for shade and natural light.
- Install rooftop solar panels to make clean electricity. Check they are centered.
- Recycle greywater through a greywater collection tank to re-use the water from your sinks, showers etc to water landscaping.
- Replace a lawn with native plants and shrubs that don’t need as much watering.
- Build with sustainable building materials such as FSC certified wood, natural linoleum floors, recycled concrete counters and wool carpet.
- Replace gas appliances with eco-friendly electric ones fueled by your solar panel.
- Install a high performance ventilation system to always move the fresh air and keep indoor air clean.
You can take an ordinary house design and make it sustainable with a few tweeks. An eco-friendly builder will advise you on additions that suit your style, budget and ambitions. Green building doesn’t have to mean rebuilding from the ground up.
Financing Your Energy Efficient Dream Home
You might think that green building elements will keep your dream home out of reach financially. Luckily, green homes pay for themselves in the long run with savings on electricity. You also get fantastic financing that will really make them very affordable upfront.
- Some municipal utilities have rebates and incentives for the use of energy efficient equipment and solar panels. These can offset upfront costs.
- ENERGY STAR mortgages are also used for energy upgrades to be amortized against your loan. This spreads the expense over the full mortgage period.
- FHA PowerSaver loans let homeowners pay off up to $25,000 in green upgrades plus their mortgage at a low interest rate.
- Energy efficiency mortgages reimburse buyers for utility savings that will pay off in the future, and get a higher loan.
- USDA rural development loans will purchase 100% of the appraised value of an energy efficient house, easing homeownership.
- State and municipal green banks offer low interest loans for renewables and energy efficiency projects.
Sustainable house plans increase construction costs by about 4% on average. But that’s okay!
The energy and water savings from the long run more than cover the upfront costs. Avail yourself of these programs, and build the green home of your dreams with the right price.
Take Action!
Ready to start building your green home?
For dozens of great sustainable house designs, go to Ecosustainablehomedesigns.com. If you’re in the market for a modern solar home or a cozy cottage using passive solar, we have the right design for you.
We have architects and green builders that will also customize any plan to fit your vision, lifestyle and needs with sustainable inclusions. Constructing a green home has never been simpler.