Eco HouseBuilding A Green HouseDo you have an interest in learning more about building a Green House, or an Eco House? Fantastic new options are being developed all the time to allow us to live in energy efficient, and environmentally sustainable houses. Sometimes these types of house building are also called building a green house or eco house. There are many, many choices available - and a common mistake many home builders make is assuming that it is an expensive way to build. Eco friendly houses take many forms. Your home may be more eco friendly because you use recycled materials. Or perhaps you have chosen to have the windows double-glazed. The insulation may be extremely highly rated giving you both warmth in winter and a cool home in the summer. You may just design your home to make the most of the winter sun. Solar power may provide all your energy needs. Whatever you do, if it reduces energy use and waste, then it is a step in the right direction for the environment. An increasingly popular way to build an eco house is to construct a steel frame building. The recyclable nature of the material used in the frame is a big bonus. When you use a wood frame, not only are you cutting down trees for this, but there is also a lot of waste that is hard to re-use, plus the processes for ensuring the longevity of the wood can be really quite toxic. Steel frame buildings are also very exact. They definitely cater to those of us who want more of an eco house, while also satisfying those of us with a need for a building with clean modern lines. If you are considering building in New Zealand we recommend having a look at Strongline Buildings - specialists in durable steel frame buildings of all sizes. Alternatively you can send them an enquiry and they will be in contact with you. As it slowly becomes "the norm" to renovate or build in an environmentally friendly way then the information about how to do it becomes easier to find. The worldwide growing interest in a more sustainable way of living is addressed at many levels; personal, business, governmental, globally. Some really good information on how to start your journey back to a more eco-friendly lifestyle can be found at this great site: Carbon Footprint Defined . Well worth a look. So is the information at Efficient Planet.
Sometimes you will have to pay for information - surely it is worth the cost to save a whole lot more money in the future? And ultimately a lot of the eco work we do should end up saving us money, and resulting in a more self-sufficient lifestyle that WE are in control of.
A really fantastic resource I found recently is a magazine called GreenLiving. While it is based in Australia, and also covers New Zealand, a lot of the information is applicable world wide, particularly to Western countries. I really enjoyed the broad spectrum of information about how to change the way we live without losing any quality of life. Perhaps that is one of the biggest misconceptions about being environmentally responsible... it does mean changes but often those changes bring great rewards. You can find out more about the magazine at these two websites (they are both Australian sites): There were also a large number of living green websites listed alongside the articles; I have listed them here. Those who have done the research and tested the theories start to share their success stories . Products are easier to get, and the cost of the materials starts to come down. There is even a huge amount of information available to both give your renewable energy and get your energy costs down. In fact, there are many people who feel as though the energy companies are holding us hostage, and will continue to do so unless we become more self sufficient with renewable power sources.
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