With the recent increase in technological discoveries building up a home that is eco friendly is no longer a distant thought. People are becoming more and more conscious and are selectively choosing those materials or living means which will reduce the carbon footprint. No longer are people just restricting themselves to means like turning of the tap while brushing your teeth or use of (CFL’s) compact fluorescent light bulbs. Innovation and thinking out of the box is the key now.
Focus is being imposed on use of sustainable materials in building a house. One very good material is bamboo which has successfully survived since the beginning of civilization and is being looked upon as an economical and ecological building material. Even recycled steel is now being infused as a durable yet eco friendly building component. Technical insights are being developed to produce paints and varnishes for homes which are low in volatile organic compounds (VOC).
Sun, being the source of abundant energy since the beginning of life is now being used extensively for generation of large amount of electricity by means of solar panels. It can very well be used to provide lighting solutions for the entire house or just for some particular section. Nevertheless this will contribute to the savings. The best use of solar energy can be made for lighting the outdoor pathways or open gardens. The idea is that the battery attached with the solar panel will be charged throughout the day and provide lighting solutions in the night. With technology the batteries in the solar panels have been remarkably improved as well. Earlier in case of rain or clouds the batteries were not charged and lighting provided was for shorter duration. But now the batteries have been made robust enough to absorb energy in a short span of time with even little amount of sunlight.
Another remarkable use of solar energy is utilizing it for illuminating the interiors. A sequence of small light tubes is placed in a way that it makes a conduit for the sunlight inside the house. For houses which do not have enough access to sunlight can now be illuminated brightly and naturally during the day time. This reduces the use of electric light bulbs during the day and saves energy.
Innovations are being made to improvise on the efficiency of solar panels. With the inclusion of silicon based components and micro-inverters the effectiveness of solar panels has increased dramatically. They have become less cumbersome and the power loss has been minimized as well. The permanence of solar panels is also important. Earlier versions could last up to a decade of service with the efficiency getting reduced every year. But presently they have been made robust enough to last several years with little reduction in their efficiency.