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One of the top concerns in sustainable building is energy efficiency. Whenever possible, it is best to avoid using fossil fuels as you never know when the supplies will be cut off or when the prices will skyrocket. Anyone who has been through a major flood, earthquake, or blizzard will tell you that there is nothing as reassuring as knowing that you have all you need in case of an emergency.

There is an unexplained comforting feeling having a stock of wood instead of worrying if the gas will be cut off during an emergency. The same holds true when constructing a super-insulated home that utilizes solar energy for space heating and day lighting. This ensures the home is pleasant, comfortable and peaceful.

Year after year, you will discover that energy-efficient appliances save money while at the same time polluting the environment less. An affordable way to add a food pantry that doesn’t need electricity is investing in rootcellar or/and cool cold-room. Other sustainable solutions include building wide roof overheads that will not only shade but also protect the home walls. Additionally, during hot climatic conditions, you can orient the windows in such a way that they can attract breezes inside the home and cool the inside temperatures.

On the other hand, cold can be kept out during the cold climatic conditions by using airlock entryway. Lastly, never withhold on floor and ceiling insulation, caulk and weather strips, as they will pay for themselves rapidly than nearly any other measure you employ.

Further, sustainable building entails using sustainable products and building materials in your home. The goal here is to do ‘less or no harm’ at all. This may call for exploring the energy in the life cycle of each building material and item used – the amount of energy used for transportation, building, and production. Using low-impact, locally available natural materials will not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of the home but will also significantly reduce the costs of construction.

Sustainable products are actually suited for owner-builders because not only are they easy to work with, they are known to omit no noxious fumes in the homes compared to their synthetic counterparts. Sustainable solutions advise on looking for natural materials in the locality so that you can replace potentially harmful and costly synthesized materials.

There are millions of ways you can save money while at the same time beautify your home with natural sustainable products. For example, using straw, rice hulls, lava rock, pumice, vermiculite, and perlite can act as great insulating natural materials in the entire building. Pumice and lava rock can be used in insulated building foundations as well as beneath earth floors; chopped straw can be used in earth floors and earth plaster; straw bales can be used in walls; rice hulls can work perfectly in insulating the walls and the ceiling. Further, all the above mentioned materials, apart from straw, can be used as fill material on earth bags so that a well insulated earth bag structure can be created.