Green Solutions Can Be Eco-Friendly And Cost-Effective

Finding The Balance

Many companies eschew “green” solutions because they aren’t seen as cost-effective, but that thinking may be wrong. Consider steel. Steel is one of the most “green” building materials in the world—it’s primarily recycled. It’s also incredibly durable, and can be made to fit a variety of applications. When it comes to building, steel is preeminent.

According to FidelitySteel.com, pre-engineered metal buildings: “…bring you a high-quality product in a fashion that can fit your budget.” The metal used is, as you may have guessed, steel; but that’s not where the eco-friendly solutions end. Atop that steel building, you can add two cost-effective measures that increase sustainability.

Solar panels can be sourced as low as $.70 cents a Watt—though after installation, even if you can source panels that cheap, you’ll likely end up paying about $3.50 per Watt. At that rate, you could install a 10 kWh (kilo-Watt hour) system for $35k. Over ten years, that would be $291 a month for energy.

Throw in a $5k wind turbine and ensure both solar and wind solutions store energy in a battery of the deep cell variety, you’re set for electricity for a decade at about $45k. That’s enough for continuous use on a daily basis by ten people or more. A single family home likely isn’t going to use more than 5 kWh regularly.

Install a well, and build a pre-engineered building to tie it all together at $16 to $40 per square foot, you can get a 1,200 square foot facility constructed that exists entirely off-grid, and will cost you less than $100k to build. ($48k is $40 multiplied by 1,200. Added to $45k for a top-of-the-line solar/wind system, you’re looking at $93k.)

Own The Land Too

If you can find land on which to build such a prefabricated structure for $7k an acre or less, you can own an energy-sustainable facility of 1,200 square feet, and the land it sits on, for $100,000.

Find a way to source your own water and waste solutions—like an on-site well—and it’s conceivable that you’ll have a facility that is completely sustainable, decently-sized, and cost-effective. What’s more: all these solutions are entirely green—or as green as you can get using modern technology today. That means tax credits galore.

One reason airports and mechanical shops source steel hangars and other prefabricated solutions of this kind is because of their environmental friendliness. Another is because of the structural stability which comes with such buildings. They’ve been known to withstand hurricane-force winds.

Certainly mobile homes are technically structures of the prefabricated variety; but not in the same way a steel building like a hangar is. Additionally, such structures can be used for many things beyond industrial application. You could make a house out of one, or a restaurant, or a brewery.

Traditional Options Are Expensive

Many estimates put a traditional home at around $150 per square foot. That means a 2,400 square foot property would be about $360,000. Meanwhile, using the construction methods outlined here, you could have 2,400 square feet of usable space for only $200,000, or only 55% of the cost.

That’s incentive enough to go the sustainable prefabricated route. When you realize it’s a “green” way of building that also saves you money on utilities throughout a given month, the incentive to use such a means of construction is definitely higher.

At twelve cents per kWh, you’re looking at about $864.00 in a 30 day month for a 10 kWh system. This means that in addition to being only about half the cost of traditional construction, using green energy at that magnitude represents only about 33% of normal energy expense on a monthly basis. It’s certainly food for thought.

Kevin Bennett is an influencer marketing pro with brownboxbranding.com who is passionate about building authentic relationships and helping businesses connect with their ideal online audience. He keeps his finger on the pulse of the ever-evolving digital marketing world by writing on the latest marketing advancements​ and focuses on developing customized blogger outreach plans based on industry and competition.