Each year, the eco-friendly trend is becoming more and more popular. Thinking about our planet and trying to preserve our environment is of the utmost importance which is why there are numerous experts coming up with new ways to preserve them.
The starting point of making a difference is our homes. However, this doesn’t only mean doing some minor changes around the house in order to conserve more energy and water. Rather, the entire structure of a building or a house needs to change; that is, it needs to become more eco-friendly in order to help preserve the environment. That is why we have acquired some big construction trends. Those trends may vary from year to year, but this year, we are getting some new improvements in eco-friendly building.
Resilience
In the past couple of years, the climate change has been a lot more notable and it has caused some major disasters. All around the world, a lot of households, and even cities, were destroyed due to catastrophes caused by climate change. What is more, those natural disasters are only expected to increase in frequency and intensity in the future, and that is why the sustainability trend is being replaced with resilience.
In order to prevent the climate change from becoming the number one enemy of the construction business, professionals are changing their game a bit and increasing their standards. Thus, more durable materials and designs are becoming an important part of building, as well as non-toxic materials.
This is because if the buildings which are made of toxic materials were to be destroyed or damaged, they can greatly pollute the water, air and soil. Luckily, we already have technologies and materials that can prevent such pollution, in addition to prefab homes which can withstand strong winds, fire resistant cladding materials and battery systems that preserve certain amounts of electricity in case of power outages.
Another reason resilience is becoming so popular in construction is the financial damage. Each natural disaster and destruction of buildings is a huge financial hit for the market. However, with resilience, every extra dollar invested in construction can result in thousands of dollars saved on recovery.
Energy Efficiency
Increasing the energy efficiency of a building doesn’t not only mean simply buying Energy Star labeled appliances. Don’t take this the wrong way, those appliances are definitely making a difference, but today, people are building and renovating their houses in a more energy-efficient way. Since buildings and houses account for 70% of energy use and a great amount of CO2 emissions, builders and homeowners are relying on energy efficiency as much as they can.
Thus, they are using super-insulating materials for walls, as well as energy-efficient doors and windows, and they rely on on-site renewable energy sources. These renewable energy sources, of course, include solar panels and batteries from various providers like Skylight Energy for example, which can significantly reduce the energy consumption of a building.
Biophilic Design
Nature can benefit us, both biologically and psychologically. Unfortunately, in the past several centuries, buildings were designed in such a way to separate us from nature, but with today’s trends that has significantly changed. The primary aim of the biophilic design is to bring nature and its elements back into homes and buildings.
According to professionals, our inner biorhythms can be positively influenced by changing the dynamics of shadows and pools of light in buildings during the day. This can be easily achieved by making the buildings follow and capture the movement of the sun by using windows, patterns and other architectural details.
Innovation
This year and the upcoming ones will be a period of great innovation in construction. Since we have the need for better, more resilient and sustainable buildings and homes, it is safe to expect that this year will combine highly-adaptable designs with technological advancements. These will unlock so many new solutions when it comes to building. Two of those solutions include all-electric homes and home automation.
In an all-electric home, gas is completely replaced by electricity. This will allow us to use induction range cooktops instead of gas stoves, heat pump water heaters instead of gas ones and radiant heating and cooling instead of those gas furnaces. This can lead to major improvements in energy use, since there are various ways of recycling and preserving electric energy through solar and water power.
On the other hand, home automation will help us connect to our houses more easily. The so-called Internet of Things allows us to create smart homes and connect all of our devices, allowing them to interact with each other. Smart homes have become a norm in sustainable building and people are becoming more used to the fact that they can turn on their coffee machines or preheat their ovens while on the way home.
There is no need to hesitate when it comes to home automation. For example, innovative smart devices for home monitoring, HVAC systems, lighting, heating and even devices such as ovens, washers and refrigerators will make our lives much easier.
Healthy Homes
It goes without saying that a home should be healthy, but that’s not the case if the home’s structure is toxic. As it turns out, green and eco-friendly homes are not only eco-friendly, but they also have a lot of benefits for our health. There have been a lot of studies that show that if a house or a building is green, the people who live or work in there benefit from them a lot, both mentally and physically.
In order to make your home or building greener you should utilize natural light as much as possible, improve the indoor air quality and use eco-friendly materials. This will not only contribute to your health, but it will also raise your productivity and overall happiness levels. Thus, consider using air purifiers and low or zero VOC paints and materials in order to preserve your health. Additionally, having an excellent ventilation system will help you keep the indoor air clean and fresh, eliminating all the harmful elements from it.
Sustainable Landscaping
Today, going green and being sustainable is not limited to the inside only. A few years back, having a perfect grass lawn was the ideal, but this year, try to bring native and low-maintenance plants into your yard instead. With such drought-tolerant plants, shrubs and trees, you can save plenty of water, and avoid using pesticides and fertilizers, while supporting the local wildlife.
Lately, people have been focused on the interior design the most. Even though the interior design is important, it is even more important that the entire structure is safe, resistant and sustainable. So, with these eco-friendly construction trends of the year, you can make a big difference in the world and help preserve the environment. Explore, research and decide what’s best for your home or any other building and renovating project, because even though you initially have to invest a bit extra, it will certainly pay off on many different levels.
