Being kind to the earth involves more than buying an electric car. Heating and cooling our homes and commercial buildings now creates more carbon emissions each year than the transportation sector.
Using sustainable building materials can reduce the amount of energy we consume to to keep those building comfortable and save money in lower utility bills at the same time. It’s a win/win situation for us all.
Green building techniques will play an increasingly important role in the building trades as building codes change to require more energy efficient designs. New materials are coming to market based on environmentally friendly materials that also emit fewer carbon emissions during the manufacturing process.
More and more architects and designers are planning buildings that are net zero. What does that mean? It means they create enough energy through solar panels or onsite wind turbines that they give back as much energy to the electrical grid as they consume.
Net zero is computed on an annual basis. A building may use more electricity in the winter months when the need for heat is highest and the efficiency of solar panels is the lowest. But when summer returns, those same solar panels generate more electricity than the building needs. The excess is feed back into the utility grid to offset the higher amount used during the winter.
Many residential and commercial building owners also insist their properties meet stringent Passive House energy standards. These highly insulated structures manage the amount of heat gain and loss with a variety of design techniques created to keep energy costs for heating and cooling to a minimum.
Investing in companies that manufacture environmentally friendly building products may offer investors significant opportunities to profit in the green building boom. According to The Street, there are 10 companies that are leaders in the field.
For smart investors, CMC Markets offers a variety of sophisticated investment tools that permit them to do more than just buy a stock and hold it. For instance, they offer a variety of mobile apps that allow investors to track the performance of their stocks from anywhere. Time is money and being able to make trading decisions on the go can create profit making opportunities.
These apps include a customizable dashboard, range of notification types, live market calendar and in-app support, so you really can trade from anywhere.
This post is supported by CMC Markets; images from StockSnap
