Unfortunately most people don’t have the financial means to redesign their homes along the best environmentally friendly lines. It can also be argued that replacing an existing house with a new one (of any kind) is associated with a significant environmental cost. However, there are always things that homeowners can do to decrease the size of their footprint and improve their homes from a green perspective- install insulation and double or triple glazing and look into alternative methods of energy production for example.
Those who are about to start a new project do have the opportunity to get it right from ground level. It may not be a home in the works either- even small garden rooms can be built to extremely high standards and achieve green credentials that older buildings can only envy.
As experiments in sustainable housing small studios are ideal. They need to be as liveable as ordinary homes, and the maintenance of a steady temperature is even more difficult with a low volume to work with. Garden rooms may not necessarily be connected to the power grid and green energy generation methods can be applied to such projects very easily, often producing excellent results.
A garden building also has to mesh with the garden around it. As broad scale builders, human beings still have a great deal to learn about working with the environment and not against it, and much can be gained from creating structures nestled in gardens. With care it is possible to create something that is in keeping with the greenery around it. Every new project is slightly different and has something new to offer.
A complete sustainable housing project may be out of reach of most homeowners, but garden projects are open to almost anyone with a large back yard space. There is scope in many gardens to experiment with modern and environmentally friendly buildings and enjoy the benefits they can bring to those who use them.
Sustainable housing, garden rooms