When deciding to design your bathroomgoing green will save the environment and your wallet, saving energy means saving money. Going green not only means replacing fixtures with water or energy saving appliances, it also means recycling and using products mad out of recycled material. Going green also has other advantages besides saving money, by making your home more energy efficient it makes it more attractive to prospective buyers. Potential home buyers are looking for move in ready homes with energy efficient appliances installed.
A great way to save energy is an inline, on demand hot water heater. This water heating unit heats water at will eliminating the need to constantly heat the water in your hot water tank. Low output shower stalls are also a great energy saving idea. This saves energy as well as gives you unlimited hot water. This is another home upgrade that potential buyers look for. In recent years these inline water heaters have become much more efficient and less expensive making them more appealing to home owners.
The easiest and most inexpensive way to save water in your bathroom is a water saving toilet. There is a wide selection of water saving toilets on the market to choose from. Pressurized toilets are a great alternative to the standard toilet. These toilets use less than 1.6 gallons per flush and has a pressurized air tank to give the toilet more power. Pressurized toilets tend to be more expensive than standard water saving toilets and are often thought to be problematic. Dual flush toilets are a great alternative offering a small flush of .8 gallons and a large 1.6 gallon flush. On average a dual flush toilet will save a family of four about 15,000 gallons of water a year. Dual flush toilets are the single most efficient and inexpensive way to save water in your home.
There are a large number of building materials made out of recycled materials, today your can literally build your entire home from recycled products. When it comes to your bathroom, tile, vanities, drywall and flooring are just a few recycled building materials that can be used. Using recycled fixtures is also a great way to save money and conserve natural resources. There are many home owners who prefer the old fashion traditional claw foot bathtubs. These soaking tubs can be very expensive when purchased new. However for a fraction of the cost you can buy or even pick up a used claw foot bathtub and have it refurbished saving thousands.
Low voltage lighting is also another great upgrade to your green bathroom. Low voltage lighting comes in almost any style you can image from track lighting to fluorescent bulbs. Installing a dimming switch will also save electricity plus give you have the added option of changing the ambiance of the room. Utilizing sunlight through windows and skylights will give your bathroom a brighter more inviting feel. This also will also give you more of an option for ventilating your bathroom, having windows to open helps to air out your bathroom as well as cool it in the summer.
Whether it’s your master bath or guest bathroom, designing it with environment friendly appliances and fixtures will help save you money and the environment. This is also a good long term investment since potential buyers are looking for energy friendly homes appliances. Since the cost of energy has been steadily climbing over the last few years it’s a safe bet that a green home owner is a happy home owner.
Since the toilet is one of the main consumers of water in your household, installing a dual flush toiletis an inexpensive effortless way to save thousands of gallons of water a year, easily paying for itself in no time at all. Any do-it-yourselfer can install one of these 
