Buying a sustainable home, like a carbon healing home, is a game-changer for many families and with good reason. Investing in energy-efficient, sustainable homes have great benefits as they have more value, both in terms of lifestyle, as well as financial gain. 

Save on costs

Carbon healing homes are sustainable housing projects that are refined to cater to sustainability as a way of life. This means that energy and water conservation processes are in place, which sets your utility bill a lot lower in the long run. These homes are low maintenance, requiring you to spend less money.

Finer air quality

We don’t realize that decorative rugs, carpeted floors, painted walls, and other such materials release toxins into the air, which we breathe daily. With green spaces everywhere, air quality is a lot better around eco-friendly homes. Not only is fresh, clean air available, but the trees and other green cover absorb various types of toxins and pollutants in the air. This improves the overall quality of life for communities, and even pets and animals.

Luxurious Specifications

Sustainable living can entail luxury in hidden ways. For example, they are well insulated in order to prevent heat from escaping through cracks. Homes that are not insulated well require heaters, making them less energy-efficient. Moreover, windows are double-paned to remove the need for air conditioning. Windows are also a lot larger to permit sunlight into the house, reducing the need for lights as much. Some sustainable housing projects like carbon healing homes come equipped with automated lights, geysers, and devices to reduce power usage. Bathrooms, too, are fitted with tech-enabled fixtures that prevent water wastage.

Better lifestyle

The modern architecture of the buildings take into account spacing and designs to promote sustainability as well. With plenty of natural lighting, sprawling lawns and parks, natural temperature regulation, and even efficient, space-saving floor plans, living in a carbon healing home is a lifestyle upgrade. Homes are designed to be calming and soothing to get away from the hustle of city life.

Healthier relationships

Sustainable homes are rarely built in isolation. In order to make an environmental impact, they are centred and built around communities, so as to share resources and reap the benefits of energy-conserving technologies together. Spacious parks, clubhouses, community centres, and numerous housing units all facilitate healthier relationships between families and neighbours. The open spaces give a great deal of freedom for outdoor activities, physical exercise, recreational activities and more.

Make an environmental impact

Living in a carbon healing home reduces your carbon footprint significantly. And since it is a form of community living, carbon healing homes enable environmentally conscious lifestyles for several residents and the individuals of every family. From waste segregation and water conservation to an increased number of trees and gardens, carbon healing homes consider sustainability from every angle and implement them accordingly. With so many people living more sustainable lives, the carbon footprint of an entire residential area reduces, having a much larger environmental impact than what is perceived. 

With the climate emergency that is currently ongoing, it is more important than ever that we take the necessary steps to do what we can. If you’re looking for sustainable housing projects, take a look at Assetz Property Group’s new line of carbon healing homes that fuse sustainability with luxury.

Home decor plays an important role in setting up a space to call your own, as it’s a space you spend most of your personal moments in. The interiors of a room can also reflect your personality, which can be an important factor in creating comfort for yourself to unwind after a long day. 

While vintage decor and minimalism are huge trends in the world of interior design, one trend that remains eternal is eco-friendly home decor. Practising sustainability at home can go a long way in reducing your carbon footprint, and integrating sustainable home decor can also cut costs by a lot. Here are some ideas on how to spruce up your house while remaining environmentally conscious.

Opt for sustainably sourced materials

When picking out your furniture, ensure that the raw materials used to create that coffee table or those ornate set of chairs have been ethically sourced. Choose furniture with certifications that mark that the wood used hasn’t contributed to deforestation in any way and that the companies in question focus on ethical labour standards and fair trade. Look out for certifications like the FSC, PEFC, Greenguard, BIFMA, CARB, and ANSI Safety and Performance Standards. Purchasing textiles made from natural fabrics can also help add to your list of eco-friendly items for decoration, like cushion covers, sheets, tablecloths and the like, made of bamboo, jute, linen, and hemp fabrics. 

Use non-toxic materials

With a fresh lick of paint, redoing your walls or repurposing a piece of furniture can be an affordable way to give your space a whole new look. Choose paints that are non-toxic and free from Volatile Organic Compounds which are harmful to the environment as well as to humans. These can continually release toxic emissions for years, making the air harmful to breathe. Carpets, too, can emit high levels of these harmful compounds which can cause allergens to accumulate. Choosing handwoven rugs can bring colour and playful designs into a space without bringing the harmful toxins of chemical dyes into the house.

Add decorative houseplants

Add life to a room literally with houseplants, which make for great eco-friendly items for decoration. Not only do they beautify and freshen up any space, but they also increase the level of oxygen, purifying your home and the air that can sometimes go recycled in a closed-off room. Plants also soak up pollutants and harmful toxins, combatting chemicals from man-made materials. Improve the air quality indoors by adding one or two plants in each room, and simultaneously add a splash of green to different corners that were previously empty. You could even line a kitchen window sill with a few potted herbs to grow a small kitchen garden and decorate the space a little.

Create DIY decorations 

When the holidays come around, take out some time to create DIY eco-friendly home decor instead of purchasing plastic decorations from stores. Whether it’s Halloween or eco-friendly Christmas decorations you’re looking for, there are hundreds of Pinterest-worthy ideas out there for you to recreate. 

Upcycle and repurpose

You may assume that the items around your home serve only one purpose. But the truth is that you only have to think out of the box to envision a pile of old clothes into a DIY project to create an ottoman. Similarly, there are a number of ways to upcycle or repurpose any item. Before throwing something out, stop and brainstorm how you can turn it into some great sustainable home decor.

Buy refurbished furniture

When people throw out old furniture, it most often ends up in landfills, which are already overflowing, causing a negative impact on the environment. Opting to buy refurbished furniture is affordable, helps reduce your personal carbon footprint, and helps save the planet. Your purchase will also help you save money in the long run since you won’t have to replace it for several years. And of course, pre-loved furniture often has the best vintage and rustic appearance.

Shake things up

Sometimes the simplest ideas can work wonders. Feel free to play around with the furniture arrangement of a room, moving items from their original place to try something you originally wouldn’t have. Remove old photos and artwork from frames and walls and replace them with others you may have around the house. You can even try rearranging or replacing the books on your shelves to make the different colours of the books’ spines pop more. There are a lot of ways to go about redecorating your space this way.
Making the effort to live a more sustainable life contributes to the planet greatly, and every step, small or big, makes a difference. Check out Assetz Property Group’s luxury homes that enable eco-friendly lifestyles to make them a way of life.

Your carbon footprint is the calculation of the amount of greenhouse gas emissions you produce from your activities, and these gases include carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide amongst others. An individual’s carbon footprint can be calculated based on a number of contributing factors, the bulk of which usually consists of emissions from food, housing, and transportation. 

Our carbon footprints contribute greatly to the warming of global temperatures. To put things in perspective, the earth has warmed at various times over the last 2 million years – but while it has taken the planet close to 5,000 years to warm 5 degrees on its own, the earth has warmed about 0.7 degrees in the last century alone, which is about ten times faster. This rapid increase is owing to the development and consumption patterns of humans. Predicted to warm twenty times faster over the next century, it’s integral to maintain global averages at an annual carbon footprint of 1.87 tonnes to help hold the temperature rise to a maximum of 2 degrees. Currently, averages vary, with the U.S at 18.3 tonnes and China at 8.2 tonnes.

How to reduce carbon footprints

Typically, the largest section of an individual’s carbon footprint comes from the emissions let out by housing activities. Heating, cooling, electricity, water, and waste are the largest contributions. By focusing on the different ways to reduce carbon footprints at home, we can work towards making a difference. And carbon healing homes are designed to make eco-living a way of life, giving us the chance to live close to a carbon-neutral lifestyle, shrinking our carbon footprint almost effortlessly.

Heating and cooling

The use of air conditioners and heaters contribute to a large chunk of emissions. Alternatives to heaters include insulating your home properly to ensure heat does not escape through cracks and gaps and keeping the curtains open to allow sunlight to warm your space naturally. To keep cool in the summers, opt for fans, and eat lighter, cold foods and stay hydrated. Dressing in loose and natural fabrics can also help. 

The benefit of carbon healing homes: With deciduous trees planted everywhere, the leaves will provide a cooler atmosphere and will filter sunlight out of the house in summers. In winters, as the leaves shed, the trees will allow sunlight to warm your house through open windows. 

Electricity

Currently, most households still use lights, fans and other appliances in a way that consumes power inefficiently, and sometimes, unnecessarily. One of the ways to reduce carbon footprints is to install energy-efficient bulbs like LEDs, which use a quarter of the power used to generate electricity for incandescent bulbs.

The benefit of carbon healing homes: These eco-friendly homes have tall windows to allow natural light, cutting down the need for lights to be on as much. Motion sensor and timer controlled LED lights are fixed across common spaces, and solar panels are installed to help generate power sustainably. 

Water

To live a carbon-neutral lifestyle, regulating our water usage is a must. One way to save water that most people don’t consider is to make the switch to reusable items. Products like paper plates and cups use gallons of water to make, only to be thrown away after a single-use. Another aspect of water conservation is preservation. With over 95% of the water on earth being too salty for consumption, we have very little left to use. Using natural, eco-friendly soaps in the kitchen and bathroom can prevent our water supplies from becoming polluted.

The benefit of carbon healing homes: By incorporating water conservation methods like rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharging, carbon healing homes create a sponge effect, in the sense that these eco-living establishments absorb water back into the developments, saving more and repurposing more, making them 0% discharge communities.

Waste

Landfills are overflowing in today’s day and age, and it’s important we keep a watch on how much waste we produce. Using glass jars and reusable containers goes a long way, and there are many new innovations that cut waste down to nothing. For example, toothpaste bits are small pellets available in jars so that you never have to throw away a plastic tube again.

The benefit of a carbon healing home: Biogas plants ensure waste is repurposed to create alternative fuel and act as a renewable power source. Compost pits convert organic waste to natural fertilizers that provide essential nutrients to nourish the soil and plants. And with recycling processes in place, these eco-friendly homes ensure that nothing ever goes out to a landfill.
If you’re thinking of how to reduce carbon footprints, check out Assetz Property Group’s range of carbon healing homes which enables the integration of sustainability in daily life, and helps give back to the environment considerably.

Living in a home entails the daily usage of water and electricity, and includes the disposal of waste, and other such activities, which generate varying levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Roughly one-third of emissions come from residential buildings of approximately 25% of global emissions that are contributed by households. Carbon healing homes are self-sustaining developments that can help bring down these numbers.

What is a carbon healing home?

The concept of carbon healing homes is a new way of sustainable living through eco-friendly homes. Carbon healing homes are built with the idea of self-sustainable living and aim to cut down the average carbon footprint that living in a home creates. By doing this at a large scale through the development of community housing, carbon healing homes reduce greenhouse gas emissions at a considerable level, thereby having a much larger impact on the environment. 

With the earth’s resources depleting rapidly, it’s more important now than ever that we look at the several ways our homes and use of resources affect the environment. How our homes are built and how we live in them contribute to our personal carbon footprint. And collectively, this contributes massively to our global carbon footprint. 

How do carbon healing homes work?

Reduce, reuse, recycle

Carbon healing homes incorporate alternative processes to manage the usage of resources with better efficiency for sustainable living. An approach using the three R’s helps allocate resources in a structured and regulated manner so that there is minimal wastage.

Waste management – To make eco-friendly homes, steps to enable zero-waste living are taken, especially in terms of the disposal and management of solid waste. Garbage is segregated into dry, wet, and sanitary waste, as well as organic, toxic and recyclable waste. This is crucial to ensure nothing goes out to a landfill. 

Efficient use of electricity – With solar panels installed on all rooftops, automated lighting fixtures and timer controlled LED lights, carbon healing homes consume minimal electricity and cut down on the dependency on conventional power sources, enabling easy eco-living.

Water conservation – Carbon healing homes use water conservation methods like rainwater harvesting to reduce water consumption levels. Collected and stored in tanks, the water is drawn for multiple purposes, thus preventing problems like water shortages and excess usage of water. 

Giving back to the environment

Carbon healing homes focus on efficiently managing the existing damage to the environment by focusing on reducing consumption patterns, be it electricity, fuel, or water. But these homes take sustainable living one step further, by working towards building the environment back up. 

Soil and plant nourishment – Organic solid waste is recycled in a compost pit and is also used in biogas plants, which can serve many functions. The products of these can be repurposed in landscaping as organic fertilizers which can help improve soil quality by supplying nutrients to help plants to grow better. This fertilizer can also help increase the water holding capacity of the soil. Compost pits also prevent the rise of methane gas into the air. 

Preservation of water – With water conservation methods like rainwater harvesting in place in carbon healing homes, water is drawn from storage tanks to enable groundwater recharging and replenishing other supplies of water. By doing so, residents of such properties will not face problems of groundwater shortage, as the water levels are maintained at consistent levels for daily usage.

Planting of trees – With large, open spaces and a lot of green coverage, carbon healing homes make eco-living multi-faceted. Aptly called the lungs of the earth, trees help purify the air we breathe by removing toxic elements and are known to reduce smog as well. They trap and absorb pollutants and filter contaminants. And it doesn’t just end with improving air quality. Trees also help regulate the temperature and have a cooling effect, keeping spaces a lot cooler. They encourage biodiversity, attracting birds, animals, and insects. Planting trees also ensures that water is filtered and retained in the soil, improving soil quality, preventing flooding, and recharging water tables. 

Living sustainably goes a long way in protecting our resources and every effort contributes greatly to saving the planet. A carbon healing home is a huge step towards this goal. Check out Assetz Property Group’s carbon healing homes which are sustainable developments with no compromise on luxury or comfort.

Resolutions can help us improve and work towards personal goals we set for ourselves. But it’s important to include sustainable goals that include the world around us, reminding us to strive for our collective betterment. After all, change begins with us.

While it’s not always possible to go all out and volunteer all our time and resources, we can start small by identifying our individual goals and how we can meet and contribute to those targets in our own lives. Here is a list of sustainable development goals to help you set up a framework for yourself.

Sustainability at home 

Start small by identifying areas of improvement around your own home. Take a look at your consumption patterns in terms of electricity, water, and other resources. It may be surprising how many sustainable goals you can meet in your household alone. Some examples are:

• Stop paper bank and phone bill statements by paying them online instead
• Fix leaking taps and pipes
• Add aerators to faucets to level the flow of water
• Segregate waste in different bins
• Recycle paper waste or look into companies in your locality that offer this service
• Remove the roof rack from your car to decrease fuel consumption by up to 30%
• Take shorter showers
• Carry a reusable water bottle and a cloth bag with you when you step out

Sustainability with your family

Sitting down with your family and working out a list of sustainable development goals together can help teach the importance of being mindful of the environment to children from a young age. It can also help family members keep a check on one another through daily interactions and by creating daily habits. 

• Take turns air-drying laundry to avoid using a dryer
• Create time after dinner to wash dishes together to avoid using a dishwasher
• In case your family follows a non-vegetarian diet, try to limit meals with meat, poultry, and fish, or try your hand at switching to a plant-based diet
• Indulge in arts and crafts during holidays to create eco-friendly decor for the house
• Grow a kitchen garden together which can also help you make healthier meals

Sustainability in the neighbourhood

Neighbourhoods often get together and work towards development goals to make a larger impact, as well as create time for community bonding. Consider reaching out to your own neighbourhood community to create a plan of action.

• Set up an efficient waste management system
• Invest in rainwater harvesting for the building 
• Grow and maintain terrace gardens together
• Create a compost pit and biogas plant, and ensure the two are maintained regularly 
• Install solar panels, and replace street lights and other outdoor lighting with solar-powered lights, or with lights adjusted to a timer

Sustainability at the workplace

A workplace is a great place to take a bigger step towards sustainable living, and you can even discuss taking these initiatives forward with the whole team for a larger impact. 

• Try to avoid printing documents unless it’s absolutely necessary. Try to e-mail them instead
• Replace plastic bottles in conference rooms with clean glasses and a refillable jug of water
• Organize workplace garage sales to encourage second-hand buying and raise awareness on sustainable buying

Sustainability at a global level

This may be a little tricky, but it isn’t completely out of reach. We can all try something small that has a large impact. The first step is to become aware of what options are available to us.

• Seek out environmental groups that commit to volunteering once a week
• Donate directly to a vetted organization that is contributing to a cause you care for
• Calculate your personal carbon footprint with a tool online, and evaluate how you can reduce emissions 
• Look at carbon offsetting programs and consider making a contribution 
• Petition your government to initiate change and prevent the destruction of environmental habitats for human developments 

By imbibing development goals in the many aspects of our lives, we can collectively bring about big changes. The need of the hour is to live more sustainably, and we at Assetz Property Group recognize this. Get in touch with us today if you’re looking for sustainable luxury in the best residential areas in Bangalore.

Homeowners know better than most that saving energy also saves money. While there are a lot of big steps you can take to help the environment, like starting a waste management system in your building, there are also smaller steps you can start implementing around the house to cut down on costs, as well as reduce your carbon footprint. Every little bit counts, and there are many different ways to conserve energy.

Turn off appliances

When an appliance is on standby, it still consumes power. This is why you should turn off the switch of your TV, desktop, phone charger, and even your microwave when it isn’t being used. This will help you save energy at home. If a room has many appliances that are often used all at once, you may forget to turn off each switch. In this case, it may be more convenient to plug them all into a power strip. For example, you can plug in an electric fan, desktop computer, printer, and charger, and turn a single switch off when you’re leaving the room. 

Use cold water

A lot of electricity goes into heating up water. That’s why using cold water for your showers and in your washing machines is a great way to save electricity. Most clothes are designed to withstand cold washes, and detergents nowadays work just the same in cold water as they do in warm water. 

Insulate your home properly

On the other hand, hot showers in the winter are unavoidable. However, a lot of heat is lost from pipes and heaters, no matter how long you leave the geyser on. Reduce standby heat loss significantly by adding insulating blankets to your bathroom’s water heaters. This will help keep the water hot for longer, helping you save energy at home as you won’t have to keep it turned on for very long. If you experience winter where you live, you should also consider upgrading the insulation on your windows and sealing cracks through which air circulates. Doing so will help trap heat in the house, reducing the amount you use your heater. The same goes for summers – you’ll find you use your air conditioner less once the cool air stops escaping through the cracks and gaps.

Run full loads

Another significant way to conserve energy is to run the dishwasher and washing machine with full loads. Running them half-full is both a waste of water and electricity. In case you find this cannot be helped, consider investing in a smarter appliance, which can estimate how much water to use for a shorter cycle based on how many clothes or dishes you put inside. You can also add aerators to faucets around the house to save water.

Upgrade and maintain utilities

It’s also important to properly maintain major appliances around the house which consume a lot of electricity. Cleaning or changing your air conditioner’s filters every few months will go a long way in saving energy around the house. This is because dirt will slow down airflow, which causes the unit to work harder and use more energy. The same goes for cleaning out the lint trap of your washing machine in between cycles. If your appliance is extremely old, it would be best to swap it out for a new appliance since older ones consume more energy as they work a lot harder to function, no matter how much you maintain them.

Opt to air-dry 

There are many ways we use dryers around the house. We use dryers for our clothes, dishes, and even our hair. But the eco-friendly alternative would be to air-dry all of them. Towel dry your hair after washing it, or simply sit under a fan for a while. This is a very simple way to save electricity. For your dishes and clothes, buy drying racks, and put up clotheslines or drying stands out on a terrace or in a balcony. Many clotheslines are available as attachments that you can place overhead in a balcony, allowing you to lower them with a drawstring to fan out clothes, and then pull back up to keep clothes out of the sun to prevent fading. Stands are also most often foldable to help you save space. 
These energy-saving tips will help you cut costs drastically at an economical charge, and will also help you incorporate sustainable living in your life with ease. If you’re interested in green living, head to Assetz Property Group for environment-friendly developments.