Sustainable Architecture: How to Combine Luxury and Eco-Friendliness

Over the course of the last decade, the term luxury went through a certain change. In this increasingly eco-conscious world, people are less and less impressed by useless displays of wealth, but rather like to think of luxury, at least in terms of architecture, as durability, sustainability and comfort. The fact that sustainable living gains more ground all across the globe with each passing year speaks volumes to support this claim.

So let’s take a look at some of the ways you can make the ultimate expression of luxury in 2019 and turn your home into a sustainable haven.

Build for sustainability

Making the home eco-friendly is much easier when the construction is built with sustainability in mind. That is why, instead of adapting an older house, you should consider buying an affordable lot and starting from scratch with green materials. That plays along with another global trend – moving out from crowded downtown areas. Australia paints a perfect example of this shift. Namely, in recent years we’ve seen a growing number of people buying house and land packages in Austral and moving away from central Sydney. As time goes by, such examples will become even more frequent.

Take care of insulation

Insulation is one of the essential upgrades that increase the energy efficiency of a house. If you want to make the most of it, be as thorough as possible – the insulation of the roof and walls will only serve as a half measure unless you cover the traditional weak spots like windows and doors. Double glazed options and insulated cores should be able to address these two issues respectively.

Also, you can use this opportunity to be a bit creative. For instance, the external insulation of the house can be addressed with green roofs and walls. This upgrade does not only improve the heat retention of the building but it also makes a striking visual impression and gives you an opportunity to use your roof as an organic garden or solar panel platform.

Harness the power of the sun

The installation of solar panels is another big must. Cutting down energy consumption can help solve this global problem, but only to an extent. If you want to truly make your house independent, you will have to find a renewable energy source. And is there a better one than the star our planet revolves around?

Speaking in cold numbers, the average American household uses 10,766 kilowatt hours (kWh) per annum. Depending on the location and the number of sunny hours, an average 6 kW solar system can annually produce anywhere between 5664 and 9540 kWh. The unused energy can be sold back to the grid and your local government can even offer you some interesting financial incentives to join the rising solar panel community.

Be inventive with lighting

Of course, energy production is only the foundation. Sustainability can’t be imagined without reduced consumption. One of the best ways to implement this philosophy is the installation of efficient LED and CFL bulbs. These alternatives to traditional incandescent bulbs can make extensive energy savings that go all the way up to 80%.

In terms of interior design, LED and CFL bulbs are capable of producing much more naturalistic light and allow you to play with different tones, accents and warmth in customized layered setups.

Let the Internet of things take care of the appliances

These days, even the most mundane appliances like kettles are made with a smart twist. In other words, they are able to connect to the Internet and interact with other appliances through smart control hubs. These products don’t only make a very nice visual impression, turning your house into a streamlined and futuristic environment – they also do a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to energy preservation.

Smart AC units will be able to regulate the temperature in a much more efficient manner, smart ovens will prepare your meals while using only the optimal amount of energy, automated lighting systems can regulate the illumination according to outside conditions and so on.

All these systems can be easily regulated remotely from the screen of your phone, making sure you won’t ever cause accidental energy leaks.

We hope these few tips will show you some guidelines you can use to turn your home into a sustainable paradise. These days, luxury doesn’t mean wasting money on superfluous objects. Luxury means making smart deposits for the future.