If you’re looking to buy a home, but you’re also concerned about the environment (and saving money day-to-day for that matter) it’s important that you lookout for a number of the best eco-friendly features currently available. Chances are you won’t find a home with them all but if you can find a property that ticks a few of the boxes, you will be well on your way to helping the environment (and your wallet).
With that in mind, here are the eco-features you should be asking your realtor about:
Eco-friendly materials
If you are looking at newer real estate, there is a chance that you may be able to find a home that has been built using eco-friendly materials like reclaimed wood, recycled steel, or even bamboo. Since these materials are so sustainable, should you need to make any repairs or renovations in the future, doing so will have a far smaller impact on the planet, and will often be cheaper for you too.
Insulation
Buying a home that has been well insulated, especially in the loft area (if there is one) is a really smart move from a financial and environmental perspective because, as you will probably know, poorly insulated houses leak heat like nothing else. That, in turn, means you have to turn the heating up, which costs you more money and uses more of the planet’s precious resources. Heat rises, so having insulation in the loft, in particular, is really important, but really, the walls should be insulated too for the best results.
Proximity to a community solar garden
If you don’t know what a community solar garden is, you can find out more about them at https://www.choosesolar.com. They’re a relatively new thing that enables local communities to pool resources and set up solar power centers that they can all make use of to reduce their energy bills and cut their carbon footprints. Finding one may be difficult right now, what with them being such a new thing, but it’s always worth looking into, and if you’re moving again in the future, it will be much easier to find one nearby.
Solar panels
In a similar vein, if you can find a home that has its own solar panels on the roof or in the garden, then that would be great too, especially if you’re buying in an area that gets a lot of sunlight. If that’s the case, you may never need to pay for energy again!
Underfloor heating
Underfloor heating is typically far more efficient than radiators, HVAC systems, and other forms of heating your home, so if you can find a property that already has underfloor heating installed, you could slash youtube energy bills and lighten your family’s load on the planet in one fell swoop. It’s great to step out of bed onto a toasty warm floor on those cold winter mornings too!
Look for these eco-features when buying your next home and you won’t regret it when you’re saving money and the planet at the same time!
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