What Makes a Sustainable Home Design?
“As a sailor adjusts the sails on a yacht, sail your home through the year’s changing climate, working with the forces of nature to power its natural comfort.”
Dick Clarke
Building a home can be one of the most taxing but rewarding experiences at the same time. A home is a place where a person retreats to unwind, relax, and take a break from the hustle and bustle of the daily life. A home will be an important part of your life for decades – perhaps a lifetime – so designing a custom home right from the start is essential.
When it comes to building a house, you should focus on a sustainable home design. Experts estimate that a house – its construction, residence, and demolition – contributes greatly to the Earth’s pollution and depletion of precious resources. The result is devastating for the environment resulting in global warming, acid rain, and other adverse consequences.
Sustainable Home Design for Reduced Carbon Footprint
Sustainable home design is an architectural concept that refers to designing homes in a way that results in minimum resource usage. The idea behind the concept is to create homes that do minimum damage to the ecology, use minimum resources, and maximize comfort for the residents. Below are three important factors that are considered in making a sustainable home design.
Responsible Use of Land
Sustainable home design makes the best and safe use of the land by considering its impact to the environment. Houses that are clustered together not only help preserve natural landscape but also leave more open space for residents to enjoy the outdoors. Moreover, building houses that are located near community service or public transportation saves fuel usage and cost.
Other ways that result in responsible and sustainable use of land include landscaping instead of paving surfaces, which contaminates local water sources and obstruct storm water absorption, and designing home lawn in a way that it requires minimum irrigation such as using artificial turf instead of natural grass and planting native plants species in the lawn.
Using Sustainable Building Material
Building homes is very resource intensive some of which cause harm to the environment. Sustainable home design selects building materials that last longer and result in minimum impact to the environment. The building materials used in the construction are sourced from recycled materials
Moreover, sustainable home design ensures that the building materials that are selected for construction do not contain harmful elements such as asbestos and formaldehyde that is harmful both for the environment and the residents as well.
Efficient Energy Usage
Another hallmark of sustainable home design is designing homes in a way that results in efficient energy usage. The houses are designed to allow maximum light inside the house. Moreover, the houses are made using high R-value insulation materials that keeps the home warm and comfortable all year round.
In Bonita Springs and all of Southwest Florida, we’re able to take advantage of maximum sunlight for most of the year, allowing us to further reduce our energy use.
Bonita Springs and Naples Sustainable Home Designer
Designing and building a sustainable home in Bonita Springs or Naples doesn’t have to be an overwhelming challenge. Ashmore Design is equipped with the staff, expertise, and tools necessary to help guide you along the sustainable home design process. We know the trends affecting home design today and we provide an array of home design services to help you with your sustainable home design.
- Consulting (home design, home permits, etc.)
- Home drafting and custom home design
- Blueprint documents
- Floor plans
- Permit documents
- Custom home renderings
- And more!
To learn more about our home design services, contact us today!
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