Green construction is slowly gaining popularity across the world. With rising real estate prices and awareness about environmental footprints, it gradually is increasing the demand for more and more eco-friendly housing structures. Some eco-friendly house construction methods and styles are mentioned below:
Cob House
Cob is made of a mixture of straw and earth and is inexpensive and a versatile material. It can be molded in any design and shape. The house looks similar to the adobe homes in the Southwest America. The cob houses are round in shape and looks like the whole house is made of clay. This material is sturdy in nature. Some of the cob houses in England are as old as the nineteenth century.
Straw-bale construction
Straws are cheap and eco-friendly. Moreover, they provide good insulation. Straws generally are considered a waste product of grain farming. Hence, utilizing them to building straw-bale construction can be an important move. Since it is used to construct the frame of the house or along with the wooden frame, it can mold into any shape or size. Moreover, you can use recycled steel beams or bamboo rods to support the construction.
Shipping-crate home
Another popular concept for eco-friendly housing alternatives is the shipping container. They are cheap and need fewer raw materials to build them up. One or more shipping containers can be used to build the house depending on the family size and requirement. They can be put together to build apartments or schools too. Many consider adding some more eco-friendly accessories to it such as green insulation, radiant heating, rainwater harvesting systems, and solar panels.
Wood-pallet house
I Beam Design have developed the wood pallet house concept. The company uses wood pallets that are affordable and environmentally friendly to make houses. Popularly, these designs are used to make refugee or disaster relief houses. However, wood pallet houses can be used for a permanent housing structure too. A great attraction to this material is its affordability, for example, a 10 by 20 foot shelter costs $500, comprising of 80 pallets. Moreover, these pallets can be recycled too.
Green Roof
Green roof is compatible with the outside weather conditions. It reflects heat, not like the other regular roofs that absorb or store heat causing the housing structure to become hot during summers. Since, green roof reflects heat; it can reduce the costs for cooling. Moreover, it reduces noise and air pollution too.
Summary
Green houses use recycled or recyclable materials and are built in such a manner that they cause low impact on the environment.
