, ,

Consider Going Green When Building Sunrooms and Patio Enclosures

A new sunroom is a valuable addition to any home, providing an open, well-lit, and spacious area for homeowners and their families to relax in and enjoy. On the other hand, sunrooms also present significant challenges when it comes to energy efficiency and year round comfort, primarily due to the large surface area devoted to windows and glass. One of the easiest ways to meet those challenges is to adopt a green building philosophy. Green remodeling utilizes a combination of innovative green design ideas, energy-efficient building materials and practices, and environmentally friendly building solutions to create a sunroom that’s as energy efficient and comfortable as it is beautiful.

Evaluating the Cost of Going Green in the Sunroom

When it comes to building a green sunroom, you’re looking at a classic example of weighing increased project costs against increased energy efficiency. While energy-efficient, green building materials such as low e with low solar heat gain, multiple paned windows will cost more initially than less efficient materials, the payoff in long-term energy savings is so substantial that footing the higher initial cost is worth its weight in gold. Add to that the fact that green building aims to create a sunroom that utilizes natural ventilation, passive solar heating, and other natural processes as much as possible, and you’ve got the recipe for a sunroom that will be just as energy efficient 20 years down the road as it is the day the addition is completed.