Today’s consumers want to live more sustainably and reduce their carbon footprint. However, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average American home uses 150,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, and approximately 60% of the electricity produced nationwide comes from non-renewable fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.
You already know some ways to conserve more energy, such as replacing traditional bulbs with LEDs and upgrading the insulation in your home. But did you know installing a sunroom can be one of the best solutions to fulfill your environmentally friendly goals? This guide will explain the benefits of a sunroom for the environment.
What Is an Environmentally Friendly Sunroom?
A sunroom is an indoor-outdoor living space that can significantly enhance a home’s energy efficiency by harnessing and capturing more sunlight with custom window designs and glass panel positioning. An eco-friendly sunroom can have diagonal or horizontal windows and specialized glass panels that minimize or block infrared light from entering your home while retaining heat and providing ambient natural light.
Why Sunrooms Are Environmentally Friendly
Sunrooms are environmentally friendly because they naturally harness solar energy. The sun shining through your sunroom windows can warm and light your home, decreasing the need for artificial lighting, gas and oil heating. When you limit your energy usage, you can save on utility bills and reduce your carbon emissions. Sunrooms can also be inexpensive and sustainable to manufacture, preserving our planet’s precious natural resources.
How Do Sunrooms Help the Environment?
Sunrooms help the environment by limiting traditional energy consumption, decreasing carbon emissions and reusing and preserving natural resources. Here are some more green benefits of sunrooms.
Sustainable Production
Eco-friendly manufacturing is one of the most significant benefits of sunrooms. Manufacturers can use environmentally friendly materials like glass and aluminum when producing a sunroom. Glass is a recyclable natural resource, while aluminum is a widely available and eco-friendly reusable material. Producers can also use eco-friendly packaging and transportation materials like recyclable wooden pallets. Using naturally occurring and reusable materials can reduce environmental manufacturing impacts like air pollution, toxic waste and global warming.
Reduced Artificial Lighting
A sunroom is an excellent way to reduce the need for electric lights. When you accurately position your glass panels, you can enjoy the sun shining through your home year-round. Your sunroom can remain illuminated even on rainy or overcast days, limiting the need to turn on overhead or table lamps. Using your lights sparingly can help lower your electricity usage, costs and carbon emissions, reducing your environmental impact.
Increased Natural Heating
Running your heater all fall and winter harms Mother Earth. Most heating systems use fossil fuels like natural gas and coal. When your indoor heating consumption increases, so does the output of pollution that contributes to climate change.
Because a sunroom has glass panels, the sun can shine in your home throughout the day, bringing natural warmth. Glass is also an excellent insulator and can direct sunlight indoors, meaning your home might stay warmer throughout the evenings, lessening your heating usage. A sunroom can help you lower your traditional energy demand, decrease your utility bills and limit your environmental impact.
Serves Multiple Purposes
When you have a sunroom, you can use it for almost anything you can think of — entertaining, a home office, an expanded living space, a gym or a hobby room. This versatility can reduce the need for extensive home renovations that drain natural resources and contribute to air, waste and noise pollution. You can design your sunroom to accommodate all your purposes, helping you save time, effort and money on continuous home improvement and minimizing the environmental effects of these construction projects.
Increases Green Spaces
Sunrooms are excellent for creating green spaces. You can use your naturally lit and warm space to plant trees, flowers, herbs and vegetables. Increasing green indoor areas can positively contribute to the environment. These plants or gardens can absorb pollutants and emissions and provide clean air and oxygen. When you grow and harvest vegetables and fruits at home, you can limit buying commercially produced crops and reduce packaging like plastic, which can contribute to environmental harm.
Preserves Water
Water is a scarce resource, and experts predict the demand for fresh water will outweigh the supply by 2030. Preserving water in any possible way is more critical now than ever. Sunrooms provide multiple additions and extensions, like water catchments, to help you do this. You can install these systems on the roof of your sunroom to collect rainwater that you can use for tasks like watering your garden and lawn, doing household chores and filling your pool, helping you use water more responsibly and minimizing consumption.
Enhance Daily Conservation
A sunroom brings the outdoors inside and provides space to enjoy more recreation at home. When you have an enjoyable and spacious area, you might be more likely to stay home and maximize your living environment. The less you go out to eat, shop or do other recreational activities, the lower the demand for natural resources like food. You’ll use your vehicle less, reducing carbon emissions. A sunroom can help you enjoy a more conservative lifestyle, helping preserve the environment.
Increased Energy Efficiency
Another benefit of sunrooms is the increased passive solar captured through glass panels. Unlike solar panels, sunroom glass can capture significantly more energy without electricity conversions. On chilly days, you can keep your home warm without turning on the heat, making your home more energy efficient. Reducing or eliminating your electrical or gas heating usage can limit your carbon footprint and preserve the earth.
Install an Environmentally Friendly Sunroom With Garrety Glass
Installing an energy-efficient sunroom is an excellent, eco-friendly addition to any home. The best way to realize these benefits is by hiring experienced professionals.
At Garrety Glass, we understand the importance of preserving the environment and limiting your carbon footprint. We offer expert sunroom installations to make your home more eco-friendly. Our team of technicians specializes in sunroom installations and can advise you on accurate and reliable window designs and placements to harness the benefits of the sun and live more sustainably.
Contact us online for a free estimate or schedule an installation.
