The trend for environmentally friendly homes shows no sign of slowing down, as more people realise that the house they live in can be green without it costing them a fortune. This has led to some fascinating new ideas coming to the fore and changing the way that we think about eco homes.
Prefabricated Houses Are Making a Comeback
After the Second World War ended, over 150,00 prefabricated homes were built to help deal with the housing crisis across the UK. These hastily-assembled properties were only meant to be used for a decade or so but some of them are still being lived in even today.
Prefabs generally have a poor reputation due to those low-cost 1940s homes, but the modern versions provide an impressive range of benefits that make them difficult to ignore. Among the reasons that they are friendlier to the environment is the fact that they produce reduced amounts of waste and less need to transport materials to the site on many different occasions.
They use a lot less water in their construction than traditional houses too, while they also tend to be a lot easier to insulate and make energy-efficient. Earlier in 2020, the Welsh Government announced plans for prefabricated homes made from locally-sourced wood. The introduction of private firms offering affordable prefabs in the UK has also fuelled the prospect of them making a serious comeback.
Tiny Houses Are Becoming Popular
Could the era of large family homes be over soon? It is true that tiny houses aren’t right for everyone, but a growing number of people are turning to these small properties for cost-effective and planet-friendly places to live in. This type of house has become especially popular in the US, where a home of up to eight and a half feet wide can legally be taken on the road.
One of the biggest eco benefits of squeezing your life into a minuscule property is the greatly reduced energy needs that they have. Often, they are built using recycled materials and with solar panels to power all of the appliances.
If you need to borrow to buy a small house, you will want to compare the latest mortgage rates which, as Trussle highlights, are changed in line with the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee’s latest findings. A fixed rate can help avoid the uncertainty of fluctuating rates, which can greatly affect the repayments even on a modest loan.
Recycled Materials Everywhere
You have probably seen pictures of unique homes made out of things like recycled bottles and tyres. These are eye-catching structures but probably aren’t right for everyone to live in. A more practical ideal for many of us is a house made out of old shipping containers.
These metal objects are ideal for making properties from and there are believed to be about 17 million of them in circulation. Containers of this type last for about 20 years, so finding a smart way of recycling them is crucial. This is often seen as a trendy type of home for young professionals, but storage container homes have also been used effectively in London to provide temporary accommodation for people with urgent housing needs.
While some of the latest eco property trends may look like quirky ideas, others are proving to be very popular and could help us to build more sustainable properties from now on.
