We want to wish everyone a Happy Earth Day!
In doing so, we wanted to point out the advantages of building with Nova Homes.
As noted in our High Performance page, The Energy Act of 2005 defines a ‘high performance building’ as one that “integrates and optimizes all major high performance building attributes, including energy efficiency, durability, life-cycle performance, and occupant productivity.” From this definition, it’s clear that a high performance home will not just be energy efficient, but will also incorporate wider sustainability, durability, safety and cost-in-use features.
You can even go a step further and incorporate these ways to make your home a little more environmentally friendly
1. Water
Water is one subject that may get overlooked when thinking about being environmentally friendly. While most think that it has to do with energy consumption, conserving water can help and have a bigger impact. Not letting the water run in your faucet while shaving or brushing your teeth can help conserve water. It’s also a good idea to install a low-flow shower-head – these have been shown to save up to 160,000 liters of water for a family of four.
2. Smart Meters
Here in Florida, cooling is one of the biggest uses of energy. It can be very consuming in the summer months. Using smart meters offers you the option to be able to save money and energy. You can set it up to turn off after you leave the house for work or turning on an hour prior to you getting home, all from the convenience of your smart-phone.
3. Energy Efficient Lightbulbs
Energy efficient lightbulbs have recently been used in new construction, its only an obvious choice, given that LED bulbs last a lot longer and don't consume as much energy as incandescent bulbs.
4. Solar Panels
Solar panels are an essential feature for any eco friendly home. Providing you with completely clean electricity they can sometimes even make enough energy to allow you to sell some back to the grid.
5. Natural Cleaning Products
Using harmful chemicals to clean is very bad for the environment. When you wash them away you are simply putting them into the water supply. That means water will take more purification before it is safe to use again. But the good news is that in the majority of cases you really don’t need to use them. For most day-to-day cleaning tasks, natural products like vinegar, citric acid from citrus fruits and bicarbonate of soda can be used in place of caustic chemicals to great effect.