Eco-friendly building designs

The benefits of creating an eco-friendly and efficient home include lower fuel bills, a healthy living space and having a positive impact on the environment.

Eco-friendly buildings are structures that are resource-efficient throughout the processes of design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and eventual demolition. Whether you want to build a low-energy, sustainable home or renovate your existing property to enhance its eco friendliness, it is important to get some expert advice.

Eco-friendly building materials

Creating a sustainable home isn’t simply about introducing add-on renewable technology, it’s important to consider the fabric of your building as well.

Sustainably sourced or reclaimed timber, blockwork, brick and pre-fabricated systems are all viable options to consider. Denser materials such as brick and concrete tend to absorb and store heat while at night the heat is slowly released, keeping your home at a comfortable temperature.

For the best of both worlds, many prefabricated timber builds can be clad with blockwork or brick.

A heat efficient house

There are many other measures you can take to further improve the thermal efficiency of your build. These include using a good level of insulation, installing high performance windows and doors and using an air source (or ground source) heat pump for heating. The use of solar panels or wind turbines for electricity are also well worth considering.

Eco-friendly insulating materials include materials such as sheep’s wool, cellulose (recycled newspaper) or wood fibre. These can be reused and recycled and are fully biodegradable.

Glass

When it comes to thermally efficient windows and doors triple-glazed is the highest standard but good-quality, double-glazed designs also offer high performance.

The aim is to achieve a well-insulated, airtight home or extension, which will be dependent on the efficiency of the components and materials used, along with workmanship of the highest quality.

We can provide expert guidance on design and construction materials to ensure your home is as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible. We offer a modestly priced feasibility study to examine the options so you can make a more informed decision about the way you wish to proceed. This initial feasibility study includes high level drawings which can then be taken forward for further development in subsequent phases of the project as well as local authority planning requirements.

Please contact us for details or to book an appointment.