4 ways on how you can renovate your home by making it green

Written by 
Bill Tsouvalas
Bill Tsouvalas is the managing director and a key company spokesperson at Savvy. As a personal finance expert, he often shares his insights on a range of topics, being featured on leading news outlets including News Corp publications such as the Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun, Fairfax Media publications such as the Australian Financial Review, the Seven Network and more. Bill has over 15 years of experience working in the finance industry and founded Savvy in 2010 with a vision to provide affordable and accessible finance options to all Australians. He has built Savvy from a small asset finance brokerage into a financial comparison website which now attracts close to 2 million Aussies per year and was included in the BRW’s Fast 100 in 2015 as one of the fastest-growing companies in the country. He’s passionate about helping Australians make financially savvy decisions and reviews content across the brand to ensure its accuracy. You can follow Bill on LinkedIn.
Our authors
, updated on November 25th, 2021       

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Why build from scratch when you can combine the old with the new? Renovating your home is a cheaper choice when compared to building from scratch. It is also something that can help you improve your home into one that is sustainable in the long run. Even if you are planning on selling it. You can renovate your home into a modern eco-friendly hub without burning a hole through your pockets with our four tips.

Work with what you have to make your home better

Australia has a lot of vintage homes, old workers cottages, and ‘70s brick veneers to name a few. You can renovate your home to a much-welcomed blast from the past that has a modern spin to it. You can take out a home loan that suits your budget to break down the walls. Literally. If you live in one of those historically built houses that were built without taking the Australian weather into consideration, a home loan can finance you restructuring it. Remove walls to allow light where there is hardly any to keep you house light and warm, especially in during winter. You can leave some the bricks exposed to give your home a rustic feel to it.

Keep it green

Maybe you don’t want to break down your walls, but you can invest in pain that is eco-friendly. Purchase products that do not have Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) which are found in many household products that create an unhealthy environment. When painting look for a product’s that are labelled ‘zero VOC’, ‘Solvent-free’ or ‘Zero toxins’.

Harness the power of green energy

Australia is known for its sunny coasts. We have raw energy in the form of the sun hitting most houses on a daily. Why not make the most of this energy that won’t cost you a cent? By implementing the passive design principle can help you heat cold rooms naturally, decreasing your electricity bill. You can heat up water and appliances by making the use of grid connected solar photovoltaic systems, which are also known as solar panels. Before you even install solar panels its always best to sit down and look at what you are planning to power, how big of a system you use and how much energy will these panels generate to power your house? A typical residential solar panel is usually 1.5kw (6x 50W panels) to 10KW (40 x 250W panels) in size. The costs usually range from $7,000 to $15,000 which is a worthwhile investment when you consider the cut in electricity bills.

Getting your house in order with the right loan

Some of these renovations need you to sit down and calculate how much you need to turn your home into an urban hub that is eco-friendly. Investing in a home loan for a major home improvement strategy is worthwhile with its low interest rates that can be paid over time. If your home is not in need of any major re-arrangements, then a personal loan is what you need to tweak it. Investing in green products will not only make your new chic home fit in with the urban culture, but it will also see you gain returns in future when you look into selling it.

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