By Mari Sciarappa
Creating an environmentally-friendly society is one thing, and the collective mindset of the people in the society needs to work together for this to happen. Creating a green and sustainable home is an easy task, and is inarguably the way of the future.
With these simple and eco-friendly changes, you can have an energy-efficient home in no time at all.
According to Solar Homes: “One of the major inhibiting factors previously was the high initial cost of setting up a solar power system.
However, as the technology has improved and with prices decreasing, and with the supply of fossil fuel-based electricity failing to meet the high demand – leading to both power outages and sharp increases in electricity rates – solar power is fast gaining popularity, and there are now several suppliers of these types of solutions.”
Creating sustainable living spaces through “green” architecture is a foundation for eco-friendly homes. Etienne Crauwcamp, of Studio 121, says that architects should be designing buildings with as little impact on the environment as possible.
“A green building has a different tectonic look compared to a non-green building,” he states, adding that “different green principles can be incorporated to the design to make the building more eco-friendly”.
One way to do this is to install a solar water geyser. Jim Hickey from Selected Energy says that “ample sunlight will ensure that your solar water heater can provide you with hot water – come rain, shine or load shedding”.
He notes that using load solar energy will reduce your water costs by up to 90%, depending on the unit and installation, and the location of your home. An additional benefit of using solar water heaters is that they “reduce the amount of electricity used, and therefore the amount of greenhouse gas emissions”.
Etienne says that one of the most basic principles of this is sun control. “Heating and cooling a building are one of the highest energy consumption elements in a building. A simple solution for cooling down a building is to make use of sun control screens. A simple louvre system will reduce solar gain in summer.” He believes this would lead to a more comfortable environment inside a building at minimal cost.
Eskom recommends using photo-voltaic (PV) or solar modules, noting that the benefits of these include “access to inexpensive electric power in remote areas not connected to the national electricity supply network”. Not to mention the fact that it is renewable, clean and comes with no direct emissions.
According to www.solarpanel.co.za, there are simpler ways to make your home more eco-friendly, including switching your appliances to the following: LCD TVs, solar fridges and freezers, evaporative air conditioners, gas stoves, LED lights, and using electric blankets instead of heaters. These are giant leaps in the home that echo through small steps to saving our planet, one home at a time.
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