Ranch homes are making a comeback, making them the most popular home style in America, and it’s not difficult to understand why. They are well-liked for their flexibility and versatility. Rugged with a strong connection to the outdoors, this genre of homes conjures coziness and practicality. If you’re planning to build or buy a ranch style home, here are things that you can do to make your home sustainable and energy-efficient.
Green Energy For Heating And Cooling
Whether you’re building a new structure or renovating an existing one, there are several features that you can include to make your ranch home sustainable. For example, there is a huge diversity in Texas land investments, making it possible to own property of different sizes in the state most well-known for its ranches. Big or small, near a creek or lake, or on land in a suburban area, you can make your home ecological in several ways – whether you’re living on a traditional ranch in Texas or your property is in another region. High-end characteristics of a ranch home can include choice in the building materials used, the power source employed, and sustainable heating/cooling systems.
Start with designing a home that uses eco-friendly materials. Look at recycled siding or sustainable wood. Include a skylight on your roof that can provide natural light, ventilation, and even an emergency exit. Be aware, though, that skylights can result in unwanted heat gain during the hot summer months, and heat loss in winter. The good news is that you can use treated glass that improves insulation to block undesirable cold or heat.
One of the advantages of a ranch-style home is that it uses less heating or cooling, given that there are fewer rooms in a sprawling structure compared to a two-story dwelling. Increase your home’s sustainability and install solar photovoltaics (PV) panels that will generate electricity for domestic use. With rapid advancements in technology in the last few decades, solar panels are now more efficient in collecting sunlight and creating more energy power. Solar hot water collectors are also viable options for providing hot water to your home. Switching to renewable energy can save you between $10,000 and $30,000 over your system’s life time, according to EnergySage, and will contribute to decreasing your carbon footprint, further reducing pressures on the environment.
Improving Insulation And Cladding
Another advantage of ranch-style homes is that they are cheaper to build than multi-story houses. They are also ideal candidates for renovation because they are easy to open up from the inside to add or remove walls. Hence, if you want a more energy-efficient dwelling, you can increase its insulation by spraying foam and blowing cellulose into walls and ceilings. Doing so will improve insulation by filling up hollow spaces to keep out moisture, heat and cold. In addition to lower energy costs, you’ll also improve indoor comfort and keep your structure in a good condition. Furthermore, you’ll be doing your bit to improve the planet by reducing energy wastage.
Cladding the exterior of your ranch home is a good idea to improve insulation. You can use one cladding material throughout the structure, or combine different elements. To illustrate, timber may be mixed with bricks or stones. Metal and composite weatherboard are other materials that you can use to give your ranch home a modern and sturdy finish.
Ranch style home are here to stay. Simple, inexpensive and practical, ranch-style homes continue to gain popularity. They can also become sustainable by integrating green energy as a source of power, and ensuring tight insulation and cladding.
