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Creating a Sustainable Apartment

Lifestyle
7 years ago
3 minutes
There are plenty of reasons to make a difference when it comes to living green. Perhaps the most compelling is the fact that living more sustainably can reduce your bills.
 
Here are some of the sustainability measures to look out for when purchasing an apartment, along with some measures you can implement yourself no matter how old or new your apartment is.
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LED Lighting
Lighting can count for up to 15% of the energy used in a home, so it pays to find the most efficient lighting solution possible.
 
Energy efficient lighting has gone through a number of changes over the past decade. Fluorescent bulbs were seen as the great breakthrough for many years until the new crop of LED options became affordable. LED lighting uses around 75% less energy than Fluorescent lighting and can last up to 25 times longer than halogen. 
 
LED is also at the forefront of automated lighting with built-in movement sensors to switch them on and off as needed, thereby saving even more energy.
 
 
Double Glazing
Great for noise reduction, but more importantly, a huge player in saving on heating and cooling bills which usually take up around 40% of your home’s energy bills.
 
Due to its insulating layer of air between the two sheets of glass, double glazing helps maintain a more stable temperature in your apartment, reducing the frequency of your heating or cooling system switching on and off. When you consider that up to 80% of the heat build-up in your home during summer can enter through the windows, apartments with double glazing stand a better chance of preventing this.
 
Solar Energy
It is becoming increasingly common for apartment buildings to have solar panels on the roof. These can be either to generate electricity, reducing the energy usage of the building (usually for the common areas) or to boost the hot water supply, thereby reducing the energy (usually gas) used to heat the building’s water. A solar hot water system can provide a home with between 50-90% of its hot water. 
 
Solar energy is a cleaner form of energy, helping reduce the impact on the environment and pollution and, of course, results in lower bills or owners corporation fees for residents.
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Water Efficiency
Not only is water wastage bad for our environment, it’s bad for our household budget.
 
Water savings throughout an apartment can be made through the smart choice of water efficient tapware, shower heads (which can save you up to 15 litres of water per minute), toilets, dishwashers and washing machines. Add up the savings that all of these appliances could make and there’s a real difference to your water bills.
 
When checking out the appliances installed, the Water Efficiency Label is a clear guide, giving you an easy to understand rating – the more stars, the more water efficient the appliance.
 
Rainwater tanks are also essential in a sustainably-focused apartment building. They allow the collection and usage of rainwater for things like flushing toilets and watering communal gardens.

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