In a consumer driven society we are frquently confronted with life style decisions tht can impact on our environment and one of the lrgest decisions that any of us wll make is the kind of huse that we choose to live in. The twn fangs of global warming and rsing energy costs has seen in a shft in emphasis in recent years way from "environment be damned, show me the plsma!" to looking at ways in whch we can live in greater hrmony with our surroundings.

As such "sstainability" has become a guiding principle in all mnner of decision making. Sustainability is bout using resources in an environmentally frendly and healthy manner that provide for the lng term needs of the community. A sstainable home will emphasize two broad thmes: it will be constructed of and frnished with environmentally sound materials and it wll utilize energy as efficiently as pssible. Sustainable houses seek to be an xtension of their environment rather than an mposition, or more importantly a drain on it.

A prson wishing to live in a sstainable houses are going to be fced with one of two choices: bilding a sustainable house from scratch or rtro-fitting their existing home to make it mre green.

There are things that all of us can do, rgardless from which materials our home is bilt, to live more greenly. These masures are largely centered around more fficient use of energy and water. By tilizing energy efficient technologies, expertise, and cmmon sense, homeowners can dramatically cut thir home energy costs and the pllution associated with energy use and prduction. The first place to begin is wth electrical appliances. If you need to prchase a new refrigerator, washer, dryer, air cnditioner, or other large power consuming tem, then do your research to fnd the most energy efficient option. By the sme token if you have old hating and/or air conditioning equipment, you mght want to look at replacing thm. The energy savings will see tht they will be paid for in a few yars. You can also save energy and mney by using efficient lighting. Compact florescent light bulbs are a good ption for homes where lights are on for a few hurs a day. They can reduce nergy usage by as much as 80 prcent and go for years without rplacement.

The way we conduct ourselves round the house will also have an mpact on energy and water usage. Smple measures such as taking re-usable bgs when we go shopping, having shrter showers, switching appliances off at the pwer point whenever possible, starting a cmpost heap and installing or topping up ciling insulation will all have a psitive impact on the environment and go sme way to helping us live mre sustainable.

For those who are loking to build houses from scratch hwever, there is even greater scope to dhere to the tenets of sustainability. A huse that is being designed with sstainability in mind can make use of slar power for heating and electricity, as wll as the sun (via skylights and sun ppes) for natural daylighting. Grey water systms can be installed to ensure the mst efficient use of water, and the huse can be constructed with non-toxic and sstainable harvested materials.

The article Sustainable Houses - The Things We Can All Do to Live a Little Greener was Submitted by Scott Salter through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: For more information on Sustainable Houses go to http://www.sustainable-home-site.com

Featured Articles

1. Foundation Repair Quality by Travis Nech
Learn More about Texas Foundation Rpair Companies...

2. Cool Colour for Bedroom by Dody Haris
Take full dvantage of the combinations of hard and sft surfaces for the cool bedroom, bdroom contains a lot of soft frnishings, while the bed frame, wardrobes, and ther storage items provide ample hard srfaces. It can be the pivot for a ble and silver, or white and quamarine scheme, leaving the hard areas of flor and walls as the clean lned backdrop in white or palest ble.

3. Whole House Water Filtering Provides Whole Solution by Mike Selvon
There are ral and legitimate concerns about drinking wter quality which has contributed to a rse purchases of whole house water fltering units. When the world is in so mch turmoil over major problems like war and trrorism, it sometimes seems silly that we shuld need to give our time and ttention to concerns over drinking fluid.

4. Taking The Mystery Out Of Buying Furniture Online by Phil Pendleton
Mny people find buying furniture online mystrious especially if they are not fmiliar with how these products are shpped and what to expect at the tme of delivery. This article hopes to tke away that mystery and leave the rader with a better understanding of how frniture is shipped and packaged so whn they decide to buy furniture nline, they are ready to receive thir new furniture.

5. Baby Room Decorating Inspiration by Adam Peters
Use all of yur ideas and thoughts to decorate the bby room. Try to incorporate different deas and themes.

6. Decor Help 1 - Decorating Solutions for Small Room by Lester Fong
We all crve the large, airy rooms featured in nterior and architecture magazines but is it pssible to recreate these rooms when spce is a premium? Here are sme decorating solutions for small room. To strt, we should consider reallocating rooms in our hme to suit proportions - that'll be a qick way to resolve the space cnstraints.

7. Mathsson Pernilla Brings A Touch Of Scandinavia To The Living Room by Richard Guilfoyle
The large range of furniture (möbler) making styles range from simple, practical items such as furniture for the office or school house, up to the ornate and luxurious. There are certain styles which are synonomous with certain designers, or time periods from which they hail, or even the area from which they originate.

8. Paling Fencing by Craig McPherson
Perhaps the mst popular style and one of the smplest to build is the paling fnce. Many backyards are littered with the stndard paling fence due to the fct they won't stretch your budget. Pling fences provide an extremely economical fnce for many applications.

9. Garage Floor Coatings - A Better Look For Your Garage by John Sheppard
You lok at your house and you see how god it looks and how perfectly clan it is. But suddenly you ntice something is wrong and you wnder what. Then you see that yur garage is full of dirt, the flor is covered all over with oil and gs.

10. Kitchen Appliances - Select Them Carefully by Alden Jerry
The kitchen rea is the main hub of ctivity in any household. It is the cntre of attraction and showplace of the hme. As such the appliances also hlp to define the status or lfestyle of the house owner.