These days, one of the most effective and trending ways to go green is to not only look at how we live, but also where we live, and to take those practices, products and policies into our houses. Whether we are making green updates to a treasured home, or building a new eco-friendly house, let’s take a look at how green building impacts our wallets. You don’t need to live in a smart house to be green. There are a lot of other sustainable living ideas to try.

Green Building Certifications

There are many certification programs available for green building that notably increase the value of your property, and often lead to other incentives such as tax breaks and grants. Green certified buildings often even receive discounts on homeowner’s insurance. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) issued by U.S. Green Buildings Council, is probably the most easily recognized sustainable building certification, as more than 1.6 million residential units are currently participating in LEED around the world. Other popular certifications include Energy Star, BREEAM, and Green Globes. Prospective buildings undergo a thorough third-party verification process, including an onsite inspection and performance testing. Successfully certified homes deliver on design plans and meet green building commitments that save energy, water and other resources. But do they save money? By using less energy, green homes also lower utility bills. On average, LEED certified homes save 30% of water and 15-20% of energy, which averages out to about $70 per month in utility bill savings. While the typical cost of an entry level LEED home is about 3 to 5 percent higher than a conventional home, that additional cost is canceled out by utility savings, making a LEED certified home with all of its benefits- from cleaner indoor air quality for the family, to a lower carbon footprint for the planet- comparable in cost to a traditional home meeting minimum building code.

Tax Breaks

We talked about a number of financial benefits of green buildings for both consumers and businesses in the past. One benefit is tax breaks.

Like certifications, there are many available tax breaks, grants, and other financial incentives for green construction, helping many families to make the commitment to saving the planet. Federal, state, and local governments want your home to be more efficient and earth-friendly, and surprisingly, so do many utility companies. From solar to wind, geothermal to fuel cell energies, the tax breaks being offered can make a huge impact on their cost for either new or existing projects, offering up to up to 26% of the installation and equipment as a tax credit. Not to mention all of the state, local and utility deals. For example, Pacific Gas and Electric, a leading California utility company, offers utility bill rebates of up to $120 to customers who purchase efficient appliances and equipment. The building of eco homes is on the rise with thanks going to these tax breaks and money saving incentives. Keep in mind these tax breaks are set through December 31, 2021, when they will be reevaluated.

Uncertified Updates

On the more affordable end for the homeowner who wants to make sustainable upgrades without the commitment of a certificate or a new build, there are tons of options. There are simple best practices that are cost effective and low effort, like sealing windows and other air leaks (90 inches of weather strips costing about $12), taking shorter showers, turning lights off or switching to LED bulbs (8 pack for about $10), and using pressure cookers (ranging from $50-$250) rather than the energy intensive ovens. There are more long-term investments such as installing energy efficient windows or doors (lowering energy bills by 12% on average), installing a whole house fan (saving 90% in cooling energy costs on average), or upgrading kitchen appliances (qualifying for tax breaks plus potential energy bill savings of over $100 per year).

Final Thoughts

It is very clear that energy saving, means energy bill saving. If a family is able to front the cash to make the upgrades or commitments to a sustainable lifestyle, the numbers say they will save money in the long run. Luckily, we don’t have to choose between saving a buck or saving the planet, with options for every person on every budget. Not only that, but government financial incentives make it easier than ever to make the switch to a green lifestyle. It is heartening to know that energy companies, insurance companies, local and federal governments all are on the same page about saving the planet, and want to create the easiest, most accessible path for homeowners to get on board, too.

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However, not all companies know how to create green building projects. Eco-friendly construction sites are a source of noise and light pollution, but they don’t have to be a source of pollution that damages the environment too. While temporarily annoying the neighboring businesses and households doesn’t matter in the long-term, pollution caused through emissions, landfill and the destruction of natural habitats will have more serious consequences for the planet.

Making Construction Sites Eco-Friendly

If you’re a property developer, construction site manager or even construction worker, we’ve found three simple changes that you can make to your construction site to ensure that its impact on the environment is as little as possible. We have talked about the importance of choosing the right materials before, but wanted to talk in more detail about other aspects of the project. Making construction sites eco-friendly can be a lot easier than you thought.

Technological Planning

Reducing waste is one of the most important aspects of any eco-friendly construction project. You will reduce your carbon footprint and preserve precious natural resources if you find creative ways to reduce waste. Technological planning is key to achieving this end.

Using 3-D technology to fully immerse yourself and your fellow construction workers into the development project will mean that you can not only spot areas that need plumbing or mechanical work, but plan how much material is needed for this work. This means that excess materials aren’t bought and then no longer needed or wasted, which can save money and resources too. Obviously, using collaborative technology to plan projects, like Google Suite, Slack, and Trello can save on resources, paper and pens too! It removes the need for an office, since it relies on remote technology that allows people to collaborate without being in close proximity to each other.

Fuel Efficiency

Energy efficiency is a critical aspect of sustainable buildings. Eco-friendly construction projects lead to buildings that use 25% less energy, largely because they require less fuel.

Planning ahead the routes that your materials and employees will take to the construction site means that the most fuel-efficient and quickest journeys can be made. Opting for a vehicle that runs on cleaner fuels and has diesel particulate filters fitted to the exhaust will help to reduce the fuel emissions that enter the air when driving.

Ensure that when transporting materials, you plan ahead. Even if you don’t need the material now, think about the material that you’ll need later on. This will make sure that each vehicle is as fully loaded as it can safely be, to maximize this first vehicle’s fuel and to save wasting more fuel when transporting material that is needed later on in a half-empty vehicle.

Manage Your Waste

Not everything on your construction site needs to go to landfill and you should see what you can reuse, recycle and upcycle. Even if you don’t want to reuse something, someone else might! There are specific websites where you can actually offer up your unwanted construction goods for sale that others can make use of! Your old wooden beams could landscape someone’s garden, or broken concrete could be used as pathways in the garden. When you do have waste, you should ensure that it is disposed of correctly with industrial containers that accept wood, concrete, roofing materials and other construction waste. This means that your waste doesn’t all go to landfill!

Your buildings and future businesses or properties will change the immediate environment for better, so why not ensure that they benefit the wider environment too? Starting to make small changes now to respect the earth, like the ones that we have suggested, will help further regulations and practices be developed. Lead the way now, to set the trend for construction site developers and be ahead of the rest!

Eco-Friendly Construction Can Be a Reality with Proper Planning

There are a number of great ways to make eco-friendly construction possible. The steps listed above are key. You should follow them closely while working on these projects.

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