How do you play your part in a more sustainable future? On our previous blog, we mentioned how timber frames and ceiling insulation can be a simple step you can take towards a more sustainable approach when building your new home, so here are a few more helpful hints on how you can lessen your impact with your new home build and how to ultimately increase your comfort and save yourself money.
5 Star your Appliances
Choose appliances at the design stage that have a high energy-efficiency rating, a good home builder will be able to show you a selection of available appliances in their showrooms and display homes that can really save you big bucks over time and you won’t have to compromise on style and contemporary design features. Choosing water efficient appliances with low flow and installing a water tank can also go a long way to minimising your water bills and reduce waste.
Go Non-Toxic and Local
Choose a local builder who uses non-toxic building materials for both your health and the health of the planet. Ask your builder to source your materials locally to reduce your carbon footprint by not having to transport imported products.
Smart Landscaping
When thinking about your landscape design choose native plants and consider how to maximise planting for shade and protection from the elements. Natives require very little maintenance especially watering, and they are well suited to Sydney summers and winters. As an added bonus they will attract native birds and insects, turning your garden into an island for many of our unique animals.Making sure your position larger planting (like trees) for shade will create both a beautiful and comfortable place to relax outdoors as well as help to keep cooling costs down in the summer months. If you have a green thumb making space for your own vegetable and fruit garden is both a fun and satisfying way to help with your efforts in living sustainably. Growing your own food has a myriad of health benefits (no nasty pesticides and super fresh produce at your fingertips) as well as being great for your hip pocket by reducing your grocery bills! The planting of bee attracting flowers to ensure your garden is pollinated each season make an attractive addition to the look of your outdoor space. Lastly, consider setting up a rain garden in your yard. A rain garden is a system that collects rain water from roofs and hard surfaces and then filters it to remove pollutants and nutrients. The clean water can then be used to water other parts of the garden, thus saving you money, or released to the drainage system instead of having the polluted water wash into waterways from your property.
Good planning at the design stage is always going to be the most cost effective and time efficient way to ensure your home is maximising all of the sustainable options that are available. Kaplan Homes has 3 display homes featuring the latest products and trends available that can help you “go green” with your home build. You can visit these at Gledswood Hills, Marsden Park and Edmondson Park. While you are at it why not drop into our Showroom in Smeaton Grange and speak to our in-house interior designer Anne about the most sustainable design options available in the marketplace. And remember going green when building your new home doesn’t need to cost you the earth!
