Rapid changes are taking place in the field of energy efficient home design.  Most new concepts are taking place from both necessity and an increasing desire to increase self-sufficiency.  Awareness of environmental issues as well as the ever constant up tick in energy costs is encouraging extra effort in efficient and green home design.

At the latest cutting edge of the spectrum, there are technological marvels such as the first zero emission home recently unveiled in the UK.  It not only builds upon traditional solar panel usage and plentiful insulation, but also includes cool features such as a biomass boiler.

The concept home’s abundant list of green features makes it completely carbon neutral and would save homeowners bundles of cash from virtually nonexistent utility bills.  One caveat though — the cutting edge technology does add a hefty amount to the design and construction costs, in this case, about 40%.

What can you do on a more realistic (and affordable) basis today?  Here are a few cornerstone ideas for the average new home buyer or developer…

Increase the Insulation.

At the very least, an energy efficient home should be very well insulated, with R values up to R-30 for walls and R-70 in the ceilings.  Even the foundation can be insulated.  In years past, many would have considered this level of insulation as excessive overkill, but for total efficiency, it cannot be overlooked.

Increasingly popular, for both ease of construction and for energy efficiency, is the use of structural insulated panels for exterior wall construction.  These engineered pre cast panels typically consist of plywood encased foam up to 8 inches thick.

Watch the Windows.

Most efficiency disappears out the windows.  While window technology is improving, even more important is improving the way the windows are used.  An architect or designer who is aware of efficient design will match and maximize the solar rating of windows to the climate where the building is located.  Determining proper window placement also plays a huge part, allowing solar heat to be let through and utilized or blocked according to climate.

Modernize the Mechanicals.

The mechanical systems of an energy efficient home are not only more efficient, but they’re often smaller from the home’s reduced demand thanks to other design efficiencies.  Even so, installing a geothermal HVAC system, which extracts stable and moderate temperatures directly from the ground, saves the need to burn those extra therms or kilowatts on the generation of heat and cooling.

Green design standards encourage an excellent ventilation system to keep the house comfortable, often without even having to power up the air conditioning.  Wind and natural airflow can be channeled through the house in ways never imagined in the past with windows alone.  As structures are tightened and better insulated, this added ventilation is indeed needed to provide fresh air.

Evolve Your Electricity.

Do you want your home to be truly self-sufficient?  If so, take a look at generating as much of your own electricity as possible.  Today’s solar panels produce way more power per square foot and have a much less obtrusive profile than earlier solar technologies.

Wind power is taking on popularity too.  If your geographical location is conducive, small wind turbines are able to produce all of the electricity you need and still pump plenty of excess power back out to the grid.

Reuse the Rainwater.

If water tends to be a scarce commodity in your area, you can design a runoff water collection system to capture the rain water that lands on your roof and pipe it from the gutters into a holding tank.  From there, it can be reused for a lawn’s irrigation system or for other general outdoor usage.

While you might not have the biggest budget or the desire to build the extreme green home of the future, every little step taken helps.  Even by implementing the most basic energy efficient home design techniques, you’ll reduce both your bills and your impact on the environment.