How to Create an Energy-Efficient Custom Home

If you’re building a new custom home, you’ll want it to last as long as possible. Often, a long-lasting home is an energy-efficient home. But what does it mean to be energy efficient? How do you ensure these concepts are added to your home? Today, we’ll detail how to create an energy-efficient custom home that saves you money and keeps you comfortable all year long.

Why Does Energy Efficiency Matter?

Energy efficiency has become a bit of a buzzword recently, but it does have real-world applications for you and your custom-built home. There are three key benefits to building with energy efficiency in mind when designing your future home.

Low Energy Bills 

One of the biggest advantages people enjoy from an energy-efficient home is the lower energy costs. Because your home is designed to help your appliances and utilities run efficiently and effectively, many homeowners often see a decrease in their energy bills. Some research shows that building an energy-efficient home can help you save hundreds of dollars annually.

Longer Lasting Appliances 

Another common goal people seek when building an energy-efficient home is ensuring their appliances and utilities last as long as they can. The Florida weather and sun are known to be harsh on HVAC units, home water systems, and other home appliances, so many people try to invest in ways to keep them from unnecessary strain. Energy efficiency prevents your appliances from overworking, reducing the need for potentially expensive repairs and extending the lifespan of each device. If you want to go the extra mile, you could even find financial incentives for upgrading to more energy-efficient appliances.

Protecting the Environment

If you’re looking into energy efficiency, you may also be eco-conscious and consider your carbon footprint, especially when designing and building a new house. When you build a home with energy efficiency in mind, you’re also helping to protect the environment and local ecosystem in your area. Energy efficiency designs often overlap with eco-friendly designs, creating a home that not only is effective for your needs but also minimizes its harm to the environment around it. 

Tips to Create an Energy-Efficient Custom Home

If you are planning a custom home, there are several ways to boost its energy efficiency during construction. We’ll cover the top four home design tips that improve your home’s efficiency and help you save money on energy bills in the long run. 

1. Plan for the Angle of the Sun

It’s no secret that the Florida sun can be brutal. The heat from the sun often permeates a home and causes your AC to work overtime. One of the best ways to minimize the amount of heat entering your home is by designing the windows to avoid any direct sunlight. 

This doesn’t mean your home will be dark—you can still have large windows that fill the space with natural light, and you’ll see many energy-efficient home examples often display large windows. But this design plan just reduces or eliminates the amount of windows on the east and west sides of the home so the sun is never directly shining through a window. Ask your home designer how you can plan out your windows to avoid excess heat in your home. 

2. Allow Air Flow

In a similar vein, you’ll want to design a home that makes it easy for your HVAC to keep it cool during the hot summer days. One house design that aids in the efficiency of your air is an open-concept home. Not only does this design allow you to maximize your space, but it also allows air to flow freely through your home, keeping it cool with little effort. An open-concept home also gives you the option to use one large fan for a space, rather than a couple of small ones, reducing the amount of energy you need to keep your home comfortable. 

3. Keep Your Home Sealed

The biggest threat to energy efficiency is energy loss. This often occurs when your home isn’t properly sealed, allowing air to escape from your home and letting in increased levels of humidity. That’s why you’ll want to ensure that your home is well-insulated and your windows and doors are sealed. To enhance your home’s eco-friendliness, explore sustainable options for insulation and sealing.  

4. Invest in Moisture Control

Increased moisture in a home can cause a variety of issues, from health concerns to a lack of energy efficiency. In a humid environment like Florida, you’ll want to account for the excess moisture in the atmosphere when building your home. Luckily, there are several ways to incorporate moisture control into your custom home, including: 

• Slope the land around your home to prevent pooling near the foundation
• Design a gutter system that prevents water from pooling around the base of your home
• Install a dehumidifier 
• Add vapor barriers where moisture is most likely to remain 
• Make sure there are exhaust fans in moisture-high areas, such as the kitchen and bathroom

Design Your Dream, Energy-Efficient Home with McFall

At McFall Builders, we’re dedicated to ensuring that our custom home builds meet the needs of our clients. This includes everything from your vision of your dream home to using design elements that keep your home running smoothly and efficiently for as long as possible. Watch your dream home come to life when you choose to work with our team and our custom home-building services!

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