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Green homes are starting to become a norm in house construction.
If you’re planning to build a green home or to upgrade your existing house, you should probably be aware of the requirements to make your property more environment-friendly. Some of which include the following:
- Smaller house space to conserve on heating and cooling requirements
- Appliances with Energy Star compliance
- Use of sustainable construction materials
- Solar panel installation
- Use of eco-friendly lighting fixtures
One important aspect that homebuilders and future homeowners fail to include in their green construction plans is the window. Choosing the perfect window involves having to select the right style, scale, size, and shape, based on one of our earlier articles. However, you need to check your windows if they cripple your plans of going green.
Here are some ways to make sure that your windows help your house become more environment-friendly:
1. Choose perfectly fit windows
One of the most common things to dismiss in windows is the existence of gaps, which can allow the outside ambient air to enter your home. As a result, your thermostat and temperature regulating system inside the house won’t work efficiently because air from the outside – whether it’s hot or cold – freely gets into your home.
Make sure that you install superb windows that can stop the entry of outside air for good. You may also want to invest in soundproof windows, which keep noise pollution out of your home.
2. Seal your windows
If you see some gaps in your window panes, you may apply the proper sealing material to keep the outside air from entering your house. You can put cotton or cloth to temporarily seal the gaps, but it might be best to use more permanent solutions such as draft snakes or window insulation films.
3. Use curtains and drapes as thermal insulators
Your window can only do so much in terms of preventing the temperature outside from coming into your house. Chances are, the extreme cold temperatures during winter will creep through your windows like ants looking for food. Meanwhile, your windows may not be able to filter out the heat from the summer sun.
As a workaround to this dilemma, Real Simple recommends placing cotton thermal drapes over your problematic windows. These drapes – and any thick curtain for that matter – can block the heat of the sun during summer or keep the heat during winter.
4. Allow natural light through your windows
Want to save on electricity? Open your curtains and let the sunshine in through your windows! Remember that windows have two major functions: keep the draft outside while allowing natural light to enter your home.
By opening your windows to the ambient light outside, you can save big on power that’s supposedly used for lighting. This also gives you the option not to buy more light fixtures, some of which may even be unfriendly to the environment (we’re talking to you, non-LED bulbs!).
Going green is the best way to allow the next generation to enjoy the world that we’re living in. What’s great is that you don’t need to take giant leaps to live a greener lifestyle. Taking care of your windows can already make a big difference in helping the environment.
