- Your opportunity to make the most impact environmentally and financially comes before you start to draw your plans.
- Most of the really sensible environmentally friendly actions/things you can do are virtually free
Reducing your carbon footprint and living an environmentally friendly lifestyle is not achieved in a single step. It will always be the result of many small decisions and choices.
It begins with an awareness that every house – no matter where, no matter what it is built of, how old or how new – can be improved with some careful thinking. Any Australian home can be better environmentally and the add on benefits for you are enormous.
Building with the environment in mind begins by becoming aware of the space around you. By that we mean considering where the sun rises and sets, where the shadows are and where the wind comes from.
None of this is new or high tech but a lot of it has simply been lost in the budge try pressure we encounter when we look at building. However, much can be achieved at very very little cost.
For example, we were asked by a couple to recommend an air conditioner for their small suburban house on a battle-axe block. The couple had installed a solar hot water heater and were keen to go for an environmentally friendly option. Eco Sense responded with a simple design to create passive cooling (cooling which does not require the use of energy consuming mechanical components) using a prevailing wind, the location of shade trees and a small solar powered water feature.
The project cost the couple $700 to install and has no ongoing running costs. As a result of this, the couple now have a refreshingly cool space to live in during the Summer, spent less on installation than they would have to purchase a mechanical air conditioner and also don’t have to worry about rising electrical costs.
Please feel free to contact Longshaw Group if you are interested in a consult to discuss economical options for environmentally setting up your home. Alternatively, take a look at some of the suggestions available on our website.
