The incidence rate of extreme weather events has created a huge surge in interest for off-the-grid homes. The BBC have highlighted how most new builds are now being leaned towards eco-friendly design, and there is an increasing interest in protecting against such issues as extreme weather and power outages from those homeowners. Recent advances in the way that eco-friendly features can be constructed means that options are there for homeowners who prefer style over pure function; the eco-friendly home of the future is a stylish one.
Eco-Friendly Structure
Looking at the overall structure of the smart home is an instructive way to assess the ability of eco-friendly design to be stylish. Some of the most progressive and eco-friendly builds out there marry an aesthetically pleasing and modern front with sustainable features. TechCrunch highlights the work of Mighty Buildings, who’s 3D-designed and printed buildings marry together key eco-friendly design features, such as melding in with the natural environment, with a truly futuristic and stylish slant. In one cornerstone build, that means sleek facades and the use of recycled glass.
Eco-friendly structures also extend to the landscape and grounds of any home or project. Wind-breaking features are a key way to promote vegetation growth on a property, which improves groundwater health and retention, and to minimize energy waste by the household - breaking the natural cycle of wind across a property will keep heat in the right places. These features can also blend into the overall build of a smart home, creating a light-touch yet unique minimalist facade that has the cultured touch of a luxury home.
Catered Minimalism
Luxury and style doesn’t have to mean over-the-top furnishings. To the contrary, minimal living has long been a way for those who love their smart home to show off the best it has to offer without cluttering space. Increasingly, sustainable and eco-friendly living is a case of minimalism, according to The Good Trade. Reducing clutter reduces waste across the planet, and it focuses purchasing into high-quality, highly stylish pieces, rather than a large amount of expensive and wasteful items.
Minimalism also helps to drive forward ethical purchasing. When more time and thought is given to the individual pieces that make up the household furnishings, and potentially more cost, too, you end up with a smaller selection of high-quality and meaningful items. That’s better for your home as well as better for the planet.
The Smart Home
The smart home is becoming more present in the current homeowners market, and is a way of living that helps to conserve energy. One issue that the owners of stylish or luxury homes have had is mismatching - to get the full smart home experience, it’s often necessary to combine products from a wide range of vendors, leading to a mismatched experience. Increasingly, smart home tools like openHAB are creating software and devices that work for every single appliance in the home. By linking together the software and platforms established by hardware manufacturers, and putting them under a single banner, it’s becoming more possible for the smart home to be one that meshes well together, rather than being a patchwork of conflicting devices. That’s good news for continuity of style.
Energy Without the Industrial Edge
Solar panels and other forms of renewable energy capture and storage have laboured under their often rudimentary design. This is set to change with a new wave of affordable and good-looking solar panels that can fit any home design; both in terms of external generation and internal storage. In particular, Stellar Solar highlights a new category of solar roof tiles. While necessitating black areas of the roof, which may clash with homes that enjoy other coloured tiles, they do seamlessly fit into the design of the roof and can be patterned to offer a little geometric variability.
Further developments could make solar power even more fashion-compatible. According to Futurism magazine, scientists are working on a new type of spray-on solar panel. This means that any surface of the home could realistically be converted into one that generates solar power, without compromising any of the design or style that has gone into making that surface. This offers an exciting new way for luxury homes to embrace eco-positive ideals while also branching out and trying new designs.
Eco-conscious living is so embedded in the minds of designers and consumers alike that there are now options for every home. Style does not need to be sacrificed for the ultimate utility and benefits of green living. That’s true, from the very foundations to the roof of the family home. With new technology, homes may be able to embrace eco-friendly features and ascend to an even greater level of environmentally-conscious design; keeping a keen eye on developments in the world of materials science will help in that regard.
