Renovation and Remodeling Ideas To Reduce Your Home's Carbon Footprint

Our homes keep us comfortable and safe, allowing us to relax and unwind in a space that is all ours. At the same time, it is important to think about the impact our homes can have on our communities, our climate, and the health of our planet at large. 

According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the residential building sector accounted for about 22 percent of total U.S. energy consumption in 2020. That's a significant amount of energy — and, by extension, a significant amount of carbon released into the atmosphere.

Fortunately, there are many ways to craft the home of your dreams, while thoughtfully minimizing your property's impact on the planet we all call home. 

Interested in designing a home that will help you live the life you've always wanted — while also helping to reduce the impact of your long-term carbon footprint? Here are ten sustainable strategies to discuss with your contractor, architect, and real estate professional before embarking on your next home renovation or remodeling project: 

1.) Start Planning Early

Whenever you're planning to tackle a design project in your home, thoughtful planning can make a world of difference. The same goes when you're considering green, sustainable, or carbon-reducing design choices. The earlier you begin planning and discussing ideas with your local professionals, the sooner you can home in on the right choices for your goals and budget — and, hopefully, for the health of the planet. As Rethinking the Future puts it, "early planning can eliminate resource wastage even before the plans are put to paper" — allowing you to assess different options and "arrive at the greenest" solution, while also "helping you direct the entire process point by point without leaving much of a burden on the earth." In other words? The old adage "measure twice, cut once" is not only good for your pocketbook, but for reducing emissions during the entire lifespan of a building project.

2.) Think Critically About Your Choice of Materials 

When it comes to tackling a sustainable remodel or renovation that ultimately reduces your home's carbon footprint, one of the most important choices you can make is deciding what materials to work with. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) offers a variety of compelling ideas for materials that are functional, stylish, and environmentally friendly — including incorporating sustainable options as low-carbon concrete mixes; replacing carbon intensive products like metals, plastics, and aluminum with wood; and embracing carbon-sequestering materials such as hemp and straw.

3.) Reuse and Recycle Whenever Possible

When can you opt for recycled or repurposed materials, versus springing for something new? During a construction project, the AIA recommends opting for "salvage materials like brick, metals, broken concrete, or wood," which "typically have a much lower embodied carbon footprint than newly manufactured materials, since the carbon to manufacture them has already been spent." In addition to helping sequester carbon by leaving more trees standing, reclaimed wood can help conserve energy that is normally spent by cutting, transporting, and processing lumber. Similarly, virgin steel "can have an embodied carbon footprint that is five times greater than high-recycled content steel," according to the AIA.

4.) Look for Ways to Minimize Waste 

Waste not, want not. Thinking about the potential for waste generation over the entire lifespan of a home can make an enormous difference on your carbon footprint. The AIA recommends "designing in modules" to help minimize waste by utilizing common sizes for common materials "like 4x8 plywood, 12-foot gypsum boards, 2-foot increments for wood framing, and pre-cut structural members." Plus, there can be a significant environmental benefit by simply thinking smaller. According to research from professor Shoshanna Saxe, "larger houses" tend to have "a higher material intensity than smaller ones." This results in a larger carbon footprint. As Saxe puts it, "it's… really important to think about how much of a difference you can make by building something that is reasonably sized, using a reasonable amount of material."

5.) Consider Your HVAC Systems

Heating, ventilation, and cooling can account for an enormous amount of a home's total energy consumption — and the amount of carbon that a property ultimately releases into the atmosphere each year. Fortunately, there are lots of easy and thoughtful ways to enhance a home's HVAC systems for the good of the planet and your pocketbook. Simple switches like smart thermostats can help significantly minimize energy loss from heating and cooling; if you're in the early stages of a design project, talking with your architect and construction teams about passive heating and cooling and the use of smart sensors can also help you cut down on HVAC costs for years to come.

6.) Choose Insulation Carefully 

Getting strategic with your home's insulation can help significantly improve your home's carbon footprint. Some experts recommend using "continuous insulation," which "is continuous across all structural members without thermal bridges other than fasteners and service openings" — a design choice that has been shown to have a significant impact when it comes to conserving energy and minimizing a building's carbon footprint. Rethinking the Future also recommends thinking of walls as "more than just decorative." As they note, "a wide range of wall thicknesses, custom curtain wall, double glazing, cavity wall, Trombe wall, and their combination can help you save energy and on bills by a huge factor" over the lifetime of a building.

7.) Evaluate Plumbing and Water Usage 

Similar to HVAC, plumbing can be a major source of energy consumption. As Metal Architecture notes, "designing for water conservation, efficiency and reuse are among the largest and most cost-effective energy and carbon reduction strategies available." When working on a remodel or renovation project, talk with your team about embracing rainwater reclamation, using plumbing equipment designed to prevent leaks, as well as installing high efficiency fixtures and appliances, which can save thousands of gallons of water over their lifetimes.

8.) Be Thoughtful About Your Landscaping

As it turns out, carefully selecting the greenery we use around our homes can play a big part in keeping our planet green and healthy. Experts recommend making strategic choices like utilizing native plants, embracing low-water gardens, and designing your landscaping with function as well as ornamentation in mind. Simple choices like planting bushes and trees near windows can make a world of difference, creating shade that can help cool your home and lead to significant reductions in energy consumption over time. 

9.) Think About Optimizing Your Lighting 

When it comes to going green, little things can make a big difference — and that can include rethinking the lighting around your home. As Rethinking the Future notes, "solar lighting and integration of smart lights, LEDs and efficient use of daylighting" have all been shown to help significantly lower electricity bills while helping to minimize a property's carbon footprint. Daylighting is an important concept to explore with your home design team; embracing daylighting strategies like open floor plans, curtainwall systems, and light-colored interior finishes help distribute daylight more deeply within a building, which "can reduce HVAC peak loads with corresponding reductions in mechanical equipment capacity and carbon footprint." 

10.) Consider Renewable Energy 

As Metal Architecture explains, "a building's carbon footprint can be reduced by sourcing its operational energy from environmentally responsible sources, or by generating renewable energy on-site." Solar systems are an increasingly popular option in the residential sector, along with the integration of "water recycling systems, bioenergy, and efficient waste management systems," as Rethinking the Future notes.

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Want to talk over your Chicagoland home ideas with a local real estate expert? Ready to find the place that will suit your needs for years to come? 

We're here to help! Home is about so much more than just four walls. Buying or selling a home is a big deal, and with everything we've experienced recently, our homes have never been more important. That's why your local Baird & Warner agent is with you at every step of the way, from finding the perfect home to connecting you with local experts in mortgage and title. Whether it's the beginning of a story or the end of a chapter, we're here to help.