Utah General Contractors can help home owners to save money year round. They can help by installing energy efficient building materials, but they can assist home owners in other ways as well. Green building includes using strategies that help take advantage of using more natural light while reducing the heat of the sun in the summer. It also includes using heating, cooling, and plumbing systems that reduce or eliminate the need for additional energy sources.

A home doesn’t need to be off the grid, or not with the local utility company, to be considered a green home. Reducing the amount of energy needed can help protect the environment, while reducing overall energy costs for the homeowner. Solar energy is one of the popular ways to reduce energy costs.

There are different types of solar energy that home owners can use. One method is to install solar panels on the roof of a home and have the energy collected in batteries. This energy can be used to power the home and the excess can be sold to the local utility company for credit.

Another use of solar energy is thermal solar hot water heaters. These appliances use solar energy to heat the water for most of the year, with an alternative energy source only needed during the coldest winter months, when the position of the sun makes it difficult to generate enough energy.

Passive solar heat uses the natural energy from the sun without the use of solar panels. This heat comes from the light of large windows place strategically throughout a home.

Radiant floor heating, natural cooling, and geothermal heating and cooling are different methods of keeping a home comfortable. These methods all tap into using the earths heating and cooling system and strategic home planning to take advantage of Mother Nature’s methods of controlling temperatures.

Rain water collection, gray water recycling and dry toilets are ways that homeowners can reduce the amount of water they use. Huge containers placed outside the home can collect rainwater to use in the home for drinking and washing. Containers can collect as much as 15,000 gallons of water a year even in dryer climates.

Gray water is water that has been used to wash dishes or clothing. This water can be recycled and filtered to use for toilets or can be used as a part of an irrigation system for the yard. These two processes can greatly reduce the amount of water a household uses in a year, and helps to relieve wells and city water systems that are already beyond capacity. energy systems to help home owners. As protecting the environment becomes necessary, general contractors should look into ways of implementing these practices in their building and remodeling projects.