In today’s world, sustainability is at the forefront of architecture and home building. More and more homeowners are asking whether it’s possible to create an eco-friendly, energy-efficient home without breaking the bank. The answer is a resounding yes!
So, how do you achieve this? Engage with your architect in the early stages. Architects have a crucial role, as they can affect the form of the building, and in many cases, the orientation. This can minimise the heat loss, optimise the useful solar gains in winter, and allocate budget to the key building components that can drastically affect all these. With the right choices in materials, design, and technologies, you can build a sustainable home on a budget while also ensuring long-term savings.
One of the most critical components of the building envelope are definitely windows. You should choose the best performing windows for your budget as these provide you with cost savings and low maintenance in the long run.
Understanding the Concept of Sustainability in Architecture
Sustainable architecture is designed to minimise a home’s impact on the environment. Key elements include energy efficiency, the use of renewable resources, and minimising waste during construction. To this end, many modern sustainable homes adhere to Passivhaus standards, a rigorous energy efficiency certification that ensures the building uses as little energy as possible for heating and cooling.
One of the core principles of Passivhaus design is thermal insulation and airtightness. These factors work together to reduce energy consumption, maintain indoor temperatures, and maximise comfort. This is where products like Internorm triple-glazed windows and doors come into play.
Internorm High-Performance Windows and Doors: A Key to Energy Savings
When building a sustainable home, choosing the right windows and doors can have a profound impact on your home’s performance. Internorm’s triple-glazed timber-aluminium and uPVC-aluminium windows and doors are designed to optimise energy efficiency, providing superior thermal insulation and airtightness, both of which are essential for reducing energy costs.
By preventing drafts and leaks, airtight windows and doors ensure that the energy used to heat or cool your home doesn’t escape, further reducing energy consumption. In a world where heating and cooling can account for over half of your home’s energy costs, this is a vital feature.
Here are 6 reasons for investing in Internorm triple glazing.
Other Tips for Building a Budget-Friendly Sustainable Home
While windows and doors are key components, there are other considerations to keep in mind when building a sustainable home:
- Use Recycled or Renewable Materials: Whenever possible, opt for materials with low environmental impact/embodied carbon. Using locally sourced materials cuts down on transportation costs, while recycled materials reduce the need for new resources. Internorm’s premium uPVC-aluminium windows use around 20% of recycled material arising from the manufacturing process. Timber used for Internorm timber-aluminium windows is sourced from local, sustainable forests.
- Insulation: Ensure that your home is well insulated. In addition to triple-glazed windows, focus on insulating walls, roofs, and floors to maintain temperature and comfort throughout the year.
- Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery: MVHR is an essential component of highly energy efficient buildings, as it helps to reduce the heating demand in the first place. These systems constantly provide fresh air, ensuring an excellent indoor environment. The heat is recovered from stale air to be extracted, warming the fresh air that enters the building.
- Renewable Energy: Consider incorporating renewable energy systems like solar panels or geothermal heating. While these may require an upfront investment, they offer long-term savings and help reduce your reliance on non-renewable energy sources.
- Water Efficiency: A sustainable home is also about saving water. Install low-flow fixtures and consider harvesting rainwater for indoor and outdoor use.
- Passive Solar Design: As touched on above, utilise your home’s orientation to make the most of natural sunlight for heating and lighting. This can help reduce the amount of artificial energy required to light and heat your home. Internorm’s ECLAZ® glass coating further improves light transmission and energy efficiency.
Comfort and Long-Term Benefits
What is comfort in a home? It simply means temperature stability. One of the key benefits of investing in sustainable features such as Internorm triple-glazed windows is improved comfort. You won’t experience drafts, and the enhanced insulation helps to keep the indoor temperature on the glazing unit close to the surface temperature of the other other parts of the building envelope, such as walls, ceiling and floor.
Additionally, while the upfront costs of building a sustainable home may seem higher, the long-term savings on energy bills make it a financially sound choice. Moreover, as energy costs continue to rise, a home built with sustainability in mind will only increase in value.
Building a sustainable home on a budget is not only possible but also a wise investment for the future. By focusing on key elements like energy-efficient design, high-performance triple-glazed windows from Internorm, and sustainable materials, you can create a home that is environmentally friendly, comfortable, and cost-effective in the long run.
Sustainable architecture is no longer a luxury – it’s a necessity. It has been adopted by the building regulations of many European countries. Most recently by Scotland, who plans to introduce new minimum environmental design standards for all newbuild housing to meet a ‘Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard’.
In conclusion, with thoughtful planning in cooperation with your architect and Internorm partner, sustainable buildings can be achieved without exceeding your budget.
Find your local Internorm distribution partner and work together to select the best, most cost-effective and energy efficient windows and doors for your home.