Summer is a great season to make eco and green adjustments to homes, as well as to build and view them. It is also a great opportunity to see how well these dwellings use solar panels for energy and to cool the inside of these sustainable buildings. Below is an outline of just a few of the cool eco houses that have been developed. These guys don’t really need a home owner loan but you may well want to lok at one (unles your rich) to help follow suit.
- In Suffolk, a home in Maharishi Garden Village has been developed in line with Maharishi Sthapatya Veda’s specifications. The highest levels of energy efficiency were employed. Throughout the home, non-toxic materials were used. Featuring casement windows, the four bedrooms require very little energy due to the high insulation level and low, airtight thermal transmission.
The ground floor features a spacious, eco kitchen with a dining and sitting room adjacent. The large feature window cover the entire south side, providing ample light, requiring no lighting during daylight hours. The large wood burning stove provides for energy efficient cooking, as well as heating. The baths feature power showers and toilets.
A door to the north leads to a garden round the house, where very fertile soil grows organic vegetables, fruits and plants. The driveway is sheltered by trees. There is also a study or meditation room to the northeast.
Plenty of storage is available from two attics with built-in ladders and an ample utility room.
- Leonardo DiCaprio is one celebrity who puts his money where his mouth is when it comes to environmental responsibility. As a board member of the Global Green organization, the actor/activist has famously incorporated green technology into the entire design of his Los Angeles home.
The striking, huge house utilizes alternative sources of energy to feed all power requirements, generated by sunshine through solar panels. The energy efficient toilets cost $3,000 each. The entire home is composed of recycled materials.
DiCaprio also owns a New York City eco-living condominium. The structure integrates all of the green principles, including a solar photovoltaic grid that traces and uses the sun for maximum energy efficiency. Open green roof areas are 75% covered with vegetation. Local renewable materials were finished with low or non pollutant adhesives and paints to provide healthy living spaces and reduce environmental impact. Air and water are twice filtered for purity.
- The futuristic eco friendly home designed by a Japanese advertising firm was inspired after the massive earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11, 2011. The Mirai Nihon House promotes an off the grid lifestyle where over 20 companies collaborated to produce this house of the future. The earthy, wood house offers views through very large, light filled windows.
Elements include a portable wooden Aerohouse structure as the home’s physical platform. The Nissan Leaf electric car is also used as a home generator for power. Organic photovoltaic film collects sun power that is monitoring and controlling energy consumption through a portable device. The water purifier provides drinkable water.