Location
The location of your custom home is just as important as deciding on how to build it. Avoid building a custom home that faces west. This will minimize your sun exposure and will decrease the amount of work your HVAC system has to do. Secondly, you should also avoid building your home in an environmentally sensitive location, like areas that are prone to earthquakes, hurricanes, or floods. Lastly, make sure public transportation is easily available near your home. This will help you avoid taking your vehicle as you go to work every day and even run everyday errands.
Don't Forget About Your Roof!
Roofs are often overlooked in the custom home building process once the type of material and color are chosen. This is because roofs, although important and play a role in aesthetics, do their job for the most part without any intervention. They withstand the rough Colorado storms that roll through every year without complaint. That being said, you can make your roof environmentally friendly, too. First, invest in recycled roofing materials as mentioned above. This keeps these materials out of landfills and saves on source materials.
Next, by properly ventilating and insulating your attic, you can save plenty of money in energy and HVAC costs. Ventilation allows for excess heat to escape during the hot summer months. This also prolongs the life of your roof so that the excess heat does not warp the materials. Proper attic insulation reduces the amount of thermal transfer from the outside world to your home and vice versa. This keeps your energy costs down by keeping the heat in during the winter and the cool air in during the summer. Both insulation and attic ventilation will keep your custom home in Northern Colorado comfortable and save you money year over year in utility costs.