Sustainable Building Materials to Watch Out For in 2021

As society is becoming more and more environmentally-conscious, a lot of builders, designers, contractors, and planners are looking for alternative construction materials that are more sustainable and economically beneficial.

Their goal is to make as much of their projects as eco-friendly as possible. Why? Because eco-friendly buildings have greater resale values in a forward-thinking market. That and they are cost-efficient when it comes to utilities and maintenance.

So if you’re in the market for a property or are shopping for the right home loan deal, you might want to consider some of the following sustainable materials this year.

Composite Roofing Shingles

When we talk about sustainable materials, it is not just about how these materials produce their own energy and cut down utility costs. It also has to do with its strength and longevity. They need to be long-lasting to be considered a sustainable material.

In this case, most roofing materials like asphalt and wood shakes are prone to cracking, fading, and raising. The maintenance alone on these typical roofing materials already cost much.

A much better alternative to these is composite roofing shingles that have the same qualities as conventional materials at a fraction of the maintenance cost.

Bamboo Floors

Bamboo has been a material of choice in the Far East for centuries now. Its harvest cycle of 3 years makes it a highly sustainable and ecological material to use compared to regular wood in which a typical tree’s harvest cycle is 25 years.

While you may not be up to having an entire home lined up with bamboo flooring, it is an ideal accent material for anterooms, mudrooms, and decks. Keep in mind that whenever you choose bamboo, you are contributing to slowing down the rate of deforestation around the world.

Smart Glass Windows

The use of large glass windows in both residential and commercial properties has increased in popularity to allow more natural light to come in. This helps bring down electricity costs as different areas and rooms are bathed in natural daylight throughout most part of the day.

A smarter alternative for this is literally a smart glass window. It is an innovative construction material that detects how heat and air conditioning flows inside a property and makes the necessary adjustments to keep it as energy efficient as possible.

Solar Panels

When we talk about green buildings and sustainable materials, solar panels are not far behind. its ability to harvest solar energy makes it a valuable addition to any property. Not only does it help cut down on energy consumption, but because of its advantages, it significantly increases a property’s market value.

Having solar panels installed on your roof or yard may initially cost you a pretty penny but the long-term return on investment is very well worth it.

Eco-Friendly Insulation

As it is, insulation already brings an ecological element into any property. By definition, any type of insulation is a process that prevents heat, electricity, and sound from spreading and being distributed. As such, its function of keeping the heat in and cold out already helps lower energy consumption costs, especially during the cold winter months. So theoretically, as it cuts down energy consumption for heating or cooling, it already is eco-friendly.

Now while most insulating materials are already effective, a more efficient and popular alternative is hemp insulation. It has all the insulative properties that cellulose or fiberglass has to offer but its compressibility makes it a much more superior insulating material for those who want to pay a little extra.

Since the demand for eco-friendly homes and structures will only continue to increase in 2021 and beyond, it just makes sense that people start looking at sustainable materials in the construction of their properties.