11 Eco-Friendly Home Improvement Ideas
Looking to build a healthier home for you, your family, and your environment? You don’t need to start from scratch. Instead, there are plenty of ways you can make small updates to start reaping the benefits of eco-friendly home design. Here’s a list of 11 eco-friendly home improvement ideas to consider for your next renovation project.
11 Eco-Friendly Home Improvement Ideas
Before we get started, it’s good to know that not all of the ideas listed below are feasible for every home or project. Solar panels might not be in your budget or your home’s layout might not be right for more high-performance windows. Regardless, these are ideas to get you thinking.
Also — we’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again! — it’s not possible for any renovation project to be entirely eco-friendly. There are negatives to all types of remodeling; it’s just the nature of building. The goal is to minimize them as much as possible and set your home up to leave a smaller footprint for years to come.
So, without further ado, here are 11 eco-friendly home improvement ideas to get you started creating a healthier, more comfortable home!
1. Complete an Energy Audit
Before starting any renovations, it can be useful to figure out what parts of your home are working well and which ones aren’t working well in terms of energy efficiency. Conducting an energy audit can help you understand the full picture of your home’s energy use, as well as its comfort and safety levels. Then you can focus on which eco-friendly home improvements will be most rewarding, and move them to the top of your to-do list.
Getting help from a professional is the way to go. It will result in accurate, actionable results. A good remodeling contractor will have the trade partners to complete the job for you.
2. Install Energy-Efficient Windows — and More of Them!
High-performance windows make all the difference when it comes to insulating your home from the outside and allowing the maximum passive heat through the winter. If you’re looking to replace the windows you currently have, consider purchasing windows with the lowest U-factor you can find. Additionally, stay away from single-hung or double-hung windows. Instead, use casement windows, as these have a much better seal than sliding units.
3. Ensure Walls Are Insulated Properly
Insulation is one of the most important factors contributing to your home’s overall energy efficiency and comfort. If your home isn’t currently insulated well or properly, you’re likely using more energy and spending more money than you need to in order to keep your family comfortable.
Some good, eco-friendly insulation materials include wool, aerogel, and polystyrene (check out our previous blog on ICFs if you haven’t already!). Place these materials inside your walls, attic, and ceilings.
4. Seal Air Leaks in the Building Envelope
With modern building science, we now know that we want our homes to be as air-tight as possible. Imagine a bedroom window open in the middle of winter — no matter how high the heat is turned up, the room won’t feel warm. Now imagine the surface area of that open window as 1,000 tiny holes in your home that you can’t close. Having an airtight building envelope allows you to better control indoor air quality and energy efficiency.
If your home has air leaks, you can seal them up by using materials like caulk, expanding foams, EcoSeal, even construction tape. Some of these products are a bit more effective and eco-friendly than others, but they’re all capable of boosting your home’s energy efficiency quite a bit.
However, the best way to ensure an air-tight building envelope is to start with one. If you’re looking to build new, you’ll reap a ton of energy-efficiency benefits by thinking about your building envelope from the get-go. At Tectonic, we’re experts in passive home design, and we’d be happy to build you a new home that’s as air-tight, comfortable, and efficient as possible.
5. Consider Deconstruction Instead of Demolition
Demolition involves tearing down an entire structure, as well as everything within it. On the other hand, deconstruction involves taking a structure apart piece by piece, with the goal of preserving and reusing the items within it.
Bottom line? Demolition, no matter the scope of your project, can lead to a lot of waste. If you have items that can be kept, refurbished, or donated, don’t destroy them! Perhaps you’ll be able to find another use for them and minimize the load you take to the landfill. Or, even if the items just aren’t your style anymore, you can always donate them to somebody who may want or need them. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, right?
At Tectonic Design + Build, we’ve partnered with Resource Central, a local nonprofit in Boulder, CO, to help our team and clients with deconstruction. They provide tool rentals, deconstruction assessments, and free pickup services to help with the process — and they have a salvage yard where you can donate unwanted items! In 2020 alone, Resource Central diverted 3,300,000 pounds of waste from landfills through their material reuse program.
6. Use Low-VOC or VOC-Free Paints
Paint can completely change the aesthetic of a room. However, many types of paint can also introduce a variety of chemicals, or volatile organic compounds (VOCs), into your home. VOCs can contribute to poor air quality and cause a range of adverse health effects for you and your family.
Fortunately, there are low-VOC or VOC-free paint options available. Although these paints may come at a higher price than others, they’re sure to pay off in good health — for your home, and for you.
7. Prioritize Sustainable Materials
The most obvious way to renovate in a more eco-friendly way is to prioritize sustainable materials. If you want to invest in new home solutions, rather than refurbished or upcycled ones, find ones that are expected to have a longer lifespan and that will reduce your energy and/or resource consumption during it.
Need a few ideas to start your search? Here are some:
- Recycled or responsibly sourced woods and glasses
- Recycled or responsibly sourced wood, cork, bamboo, or wool carpet flooring
- Rubber shingle or slate/clay tile roofing
- Geothermal heating and cooling systems
- Energy-efficient or ENERGY STAR® appliances
8. Implement Regenerative Landscaping
Eco-friendly home improvement projects don’t always need to happen inside your home — there are also plenty of ways you can contribute to a healthier home and environment outside, too!
One of the most rewarding eco-friendly home improvement ideas is to implement regenerative landscaping. Think of things like native plants, rain gardens, and alternative lawns. Various methods of regenerative landscaping can help you reduce water usage, eliminate chemical usage, control erosion, and improve surrounding soil conditions — all while adding a unique charm to your home’s curb appeal!
9. Go Solar
When you hear “eco-friendly home improvement ideas,” it’s likely that solar panels are one of the first things that come to your mind. In some ways, that’s good. Solar panels are great contributors to renewable energy, and they’ll start reducing your utility bills within just days of installing them. They’ve been very rewarding additions for many of our clients at Tectonic, including our Grape Street House project.
However, it’s important to know that solar panels aren’t the right eco-friendly home improvement solution for everyone. They have a pretty high upfront cost, and some homes just aren’t built for them. There are many more feasible eco-friendly renovation solutions if these don’t work for you.
10. Buy Reclaimed
Somebody else’s trash may be your treasure! If you’re looking for new (or, at least, new-to-you) furniture, finishes, or decorations, make a visit to your local resale shop and see if there’s anything that catches your eye. Even items that are a bit outdated or dysfunctional can be upcycled and transformed into something beautiful. It’s a great opportunity to minimize buying new, and it’s an even better opportunity to flex your creative muscles!
11. Plan for More Eco-Friendly Home Improvement Projects
Want to implement many, or all, of the eco-friendly home improvement ideas we listed? Great! Feeling overwhelmed at how you’ll manage to accomplish them all? We get it.
The good news is that you don’t need to implement all of these ideas, and you don’t need to implement them all at once! Some of the best eco-friendly home renovation projects happen in stages — making them a bit easier to digest, both for you and your budget.
If you need someone to help with your planning, contact a design-build remodeling team. Planning rewarding, yet digestible renovation projects is their bread and butter, and they’ll help you navigate the process, so you can be excited about it instead of overwhelmed.
Renovating your home to improve your life and minimize your impact on the world around you is a rewarding feeling. If you’re ready to make the most out of your next remodel, talk to our team at Tectonic Design + Build.
