The tiny home movement is growing quite rapidly throughout the United States. People are becoming more interested in the idea of living greener and smaller. Ultimately, our society is recognizing the massive footprint humanity is making on this planet, and they want to do their part in reducing it.
One way in which people are learning to reduce their impact is by investing in shipping container green living. As the name implies, this type of tiny house relies on new or used shipping containers, rather than traditional wood built homes.
How is this better for the environment?
Keep reading for our top six reasons.
1. Repurpose, Reuse, and Recycle
Each year, Americans throw away 13.8 million tons of metals and 12.14 million tons of wood. Most of this is discarded building materials from teardowns, renovations, and other building projects. Shipping container green living aims to reduce metal waste in the country and repurpose shipping containers for other purposes.
2. Take Up Less Space
One of the biggest tiny home movements is happening in Texas of all places. Even though “everything is bigger in Texas,” homeowners are thinking smaller.
The average size of the American home is just over 2,000 square feet. As you can imagine, homes like these take up a lot of space. Living green in a shipping container house significantly reduces the area of land homeowners destroy during the development process.
3. Use Less Energy
Shipping container homes are much smaller than traditional homes. Naturally, they use a lot less energy for climate control, assuming the container modification included quality insulation. In places like Houston and Dallas, this can result in massive savings during hot summers.
Because the home is so much smaller, homeowners spend less on heating, cooling, lighting, and other electrical or fuel needs. In fact, many homes can operate solely of solar power, should the homeowner choose to invest in renewable energy.
4. Spend Less On Your Home
The average home in Texas is listed at over $280,000. Alternatively, shipping container prices can be as low as just a few thousand dollars. Even if you plan to maximize technology, comfort, and luxury, you can still keep your budget under $100,000.
However, more frugal homeowners can find much cheaper shipping container home plans.
5. Longevity
Another common concern with shipping container green living is longevity. How long will a shipping container home last?
Ultimately, it depends on what the container was used for in the past, your current environment, and what you do as a homeowner to maintain it. A used shipping container that spent a lot of time on the ocean, exposed to saltwater and high humidity may have a shorter lifespan of 10-15 years. However, a shipping container used only for storage could last more than 30 years.
6. Use Less Building Materials and Resources
Finally, while shipping container modification requires common home building resources and materials, they use much less than the average home. Even if you use multiple shipping containers, you still have less area to cover with flooring, insulation, roofing, walls, paint, etc. You can save on your budget and your impact on the environment.
Are You Interest in Shipping Container Green Living?
Shipping container green living isn’t for everyone. Some people have a hard time adjusting to living in a small space. However, thousands of people across the country are living greener, simpler lives and loving it.
If you’re looking to buy shipping containers, we can help! Check out our new and used options. And if you have questions or concerns about our services, shipping container home modification, or anything else, contact us today.