Sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint. Two important topics that some businesses are taking to heart. They’re going so far that they are using Technology to change things, therefore the homes that we live in.

Creating Sustainable Homes

Numerous homes today incorporate some level of sustainability. Programmable thermostats, energy-efficient lighting, solar energy panels, and low emittance windows are some of the common sustainable efforts that we think of when it comes to our homes. There are building companies, however, that is taking it a step further.

Recycled Plastic

For example, Conceptos Plásticos, a company based in Colombia. They’ve begun taking recycled and discarded plastic and turning it into bricks and pillars for the purpose of building homes. They obtain the majority of their material from recycling facilities and factories that typically discard tons of plastic on a daily basis. From there, they melt the plastic and form it into bricks using molds. The bricks are laid out to start forming of the homes that are built. At this point, they are building homes in Colombia and helping out their community. The organization has helped build temporary shelters for displaced families.

Shipping Containers

One of the trends in the United States is building homes out of shipping containers. Yep, those same containers that were originally being used for storage and transporting things across the country. The containers are now being used to construct homes, offering a unique style to the look, and the layout. And, although the structure of a shipping container is pretty consistent, long and rectangular, the homes and other buildings they are being constructed, are not. Stacking and aligning the containers in various shapes enables the builders to customize the buildings to the needs of their clients.

Post-Consumer and Industrial Plastics

There are also other businesses utilizing technology to create the materials used in home construction. GreenMantra Technologies, for example, is creating asphalt and roof shingles out of post-consumer and post-industrial plastics. And, their process enhances the performance, strength, and durability of their products. They are even partnering with companies to obtain products made from plastic, with the goal of recycling them.

Other Salvaged Materials

That’s not the only way to build homes and structures. Organizations and homeowners are constructing homes with salvaged materials. When demolishing buildings. you can pull and recycle glass bottles, doors, and windows and soda bottles.  These recycled materials are building homes or other home-related structures. It’s the combination of the materials and the technology that turns these old materials into something that can be included in a structure.

Businesses Are Going Further

Building materials are just one of the ways that organizations are incorporating sustainability into the world we live in. Other technology meets sustainability creations include:

• Pumped Hydroelectric Storage: Leveraging hills, pumps, and reservoirs to produce and store energy. This process is typically in conjunction with wind, solar, or hydroelectric facilities.
• Carbon Capture: Removing carbon dioxide from the air and turning it into products like concrete or carbon nanotubes, or sequestering the carbon dioxide.
• Route Planning Software: Software that optimizes delivery routes to help reduce the amount of time on the road, and in a vehicle.

These types of sustainable technologies are first, helping to reduce emissions, secondly, improving efficiency, and most importantly, reducing our overall carbon footprint. And, it some cases, as with a home building, sustainable technology is creating a new, unique style.

There are countless ways technology is helping us to go green and reduce our carbon footprint. To read more fun and educational reads, visit our blog.

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