There is a growing awareness among home designers about the importance of reducing energy costs and creating an eco-friendly home.
Homeowners should start growing their own spinach, tomatoes, herbs and other vegetables, even if it means putting them in amongt existing plants.
Nancy Todd, Western Cape Regional sales manager for the Rawson Property Group says what so often happens is that the man-on-the-street picks up a book or a brochure on this subject and then finds himself daunted by what is expected of him and by the cash outlays required, but these need not be nearly as expensive as most people think.
Potential homeowners and builders should learn to take the necessary steps and do so with humour and light-heartedness rather than taking this matter so seriously.
She says if, however, you do have funds or can get a loan, it does pay to install a heat pump and solar heating as a first step towards sustainable living.
These will reduce your energy expenditure by 40 percent - geysers and pool pumps are the big consumers of energy, thereby recovering the capital outlay in less than three years.
If you have the funds or can get a loan, it does pay to install a heat pump and solar heating as a step towards sustainable living.
Again, if you have funds, it pays to install double glazing on those façades which are regularly exposed to sunlight or to noise, she explains.
“Here too, you can achieve significant savings on energy, said to be in the region of eight to 12 percent by most installers.”
In addition, Todd says, it is always a good idea to install an extra layer of insulation in the ceiling.
“The cost of this works out to less than R30 per square metre and it will help you contain an extra 20 to 40 percent of the heat in the room below as well as help to keep the room cooler in summer.”
What can you do if you do not have the sort of funds required?
Homeowners should consider collecting their own glass, tin, plastic and paper in separate containers for recycling.
Todd says the first step should be to start collecting your own glass, tin, plastic and paper in separate containers and if this is too big a task, at least concentrate on the glass and the plastic.
These should then be delivered to a recycling depot where they will contribute to South Africa’s recycling transformation.
Tip number two is to start your own earthworm farm, she says. All that is needed is a plastic bucket with holes in the bottom and a few earthworms, which can be bought from most nurseries at a low cost.
Vegetables, fruit and other organic off-cuts should then be fed into the bucket regularly, where the earthworms will devour them and will excrete a plant-nutritious ‘worm tea’, which, if poured onto lawns and flowerbeds, will give an immediate boost to all vegetation.
Todd says earthworm farms work best when complemented by compost heaps - even small gardens should have one of these, which should be kept in good order at all times.
It should be fed with plant and grass cuttings and turned over regularly with a little soil added from time-to-time. The resulting compost will do much to help you mulch up and enrich your flowerbeds.
Homeowners should start growing their own spinach, tomatoes, herbs and other vegetables, even if it means putting them in among existing plants, advises Todd.
A further good piece of advice from Todd is to install a grey water system, draining off the home’s baths, sinks and other used water which is then fed to the garden, almost invariably with good results.
Such measures will also cut down the home watering bill. A grey water system for a three bedroom home will usually cost between R8 000 to R12 000 and the savings in water will pay for the system, according to Jeremy Westgarth-Taylor, CEO of Water Rhapsody.
Todd, who has taken many of the steps she recommends, says the cash savings have been significant and her garden is flourishing. Furthermore, she adds that she has had a lot of fun adopting the correct eco-friendly measures.
Print
