Shipping Containers – Environmentally Friendly Living Ideas

Eco Friendly Shipping Containers

If you do a search on the environmental friendliness of shipping containers, you wont find much information. That doesn’t mean they aren’t environmentally friendly. Shipping containers in this sense refer to recycled, eco-friendly homes that are extremely popular these days. What makes them so popular?

Well, apart from the affordability and being aesthetically pleasing, these living spaces are also highly eco-friendly in nature. Moreover, a shipping container can be turned into portable offices, temporary accommodation places, and for storage as well. Perfect for small urban lots, these natural homes can be erected to get maximum sunlight access and other natural resources for complete sustainable living.

Environmentally Friendly Living Ideas for Containers

Two of the most common reasons people are making use of containers are affordability and environmentally friendliness. But, to dive deeper into the aspect of eco-friendliness, we’d have to take a look at the factors that make these homes a cut above the ordinary.

1. Plant your own garden: Shipping containers are eco-friendly because you can grow your garden around it. Create your compost pile either in the kitchen or the backyard, using nothing but regular items we throw our way in the dustbin. From vegetable peels to cotton clothes, everything can be recycled to be used for composting. Compost piles prevents the buildup of methane gas, which is considered to be one of the largest contributors to global warming. No worries if you do not have a compost pile because you can almost always buy a compost bin or easily make one.

Growing your own fruits and veggies can help save a massive amount of carbon dioxide emissions. So build a garden around your container home to make your surroundings at one with nature.

2. Take control of your appliances: It’s back to the basics here, people. To take complete control people are doing the following things in their containers as they provide greater amenities for in energy savings.

• Switch off any appliances that are plugged in when they’re not in use.
• The use of CFL bulbs is a great idea for every shipping container home.
• Also, consider scrapping your old electronic items for newly released Energy Star rated products to reduce carbon footprint.
• Energy Star products use as much as 10 to 50% less energy than regular models, this alone would help in reducing a significant level of greenhouse gas emissions.

These simple yet effective practices can also help your portable office to make a lot of savings on money and energy, giving you the option to utilise the resources somewhere else.

3. Offers eco-friendly insulation: Another great advantage containers can give you is the option to insulate. Consider using a Greenfibre cocoon or cotton-based installation instead of the standard fibreglass blanket insulation for your container’s roof. If cotton isn’t something that takes your fancy, then strolls are also good options for insulating walls.

When you are considering insulation, don’t just stop at insulating walls for the sake of saving money. Instead, try an insulated as much as possible in the areas of your container’s wall, roof, and underneath the ceiling. Even though this will cost you more money, for the time being, you can expect to make significant savings in the long run.

4. Use solar panels: Another reason for the eco-friendliness of containers is their ability to accommodate solar panels. A typical 4 kWp panel system can save you over $ 250 on yearly electricity bills, depending on the place you reside. To make the most out of a solar panel, be sure to make your roof south facing and ideally having no shade at all.

Even if it does have shade, make sure the roof gets clear sunlight from at least 10 AM to 4 PM. Containers can house solar panels without any issue. But let the solar installer know that you are using solar for a shipping container.

Harvesting solar energy to power containers is a great alternative for providing electricity. We are quickly running out of nonrenewable resources and solar is a fantastic way to protect our resources.

5. Will let you practice some quick hacks: Since one of the major points of building a home from containers is to shift towards a sustainable form of living. This lifestyle gives you access to the following hacks for better living.

• Laying carpets over wooden floors will allow you to save as much a 6% on monthly heating bills.
• Using bed sheets made of wool instead of polyester will add to the eco-friendly nature of your home or office.
• By using an eco-friendly kettle, you can avoid boiling the water too much.
• Taking a shower instead of a bath can help you conserve 85% of the water storage of your home.
• It’s always a good idea to try repair broken things instead of wanting to buy them at the first chance.
• Replacing single glazed windows with the double glazed variety will reduce the overall heating usage.

6. Make use of local materials for container modifications: A fantastic way to cut down on carbon footprint is to source materials locally for the building. While the utility of this task may vary depending on the customisations required, it’s certainly worth considering when modifying your container You can also decide to take this a step further and eat locally procured or homegrown food whenever possible.

Conclusion

These great tips for eco-friendly living in your container. No wonder why so many people are attracted to this style of living! If you’re planning on using containers for your very own eco-friendly abode, feel free to get in touch with us today.

Learn more

Read about shipping containers architecture from wikipedia.