7 Sustainable Remodeling Tips for Your Next Home Project

by Rachel White

At Byggmeister, sustainability isn’t an add-on, it’s the foundation of how we approach every project. Whether you're updating a single room or transforming your entire home, our approach enhances comfort, reduces your environmental impact, and adds long-term value. Here are seven ways to bring sustainability into your next remodel, along with real-world examples from our portfolio.

1. Prioritize Energy Efficiency from the Start

The most impactful changes you can make during a remodel often involve improving your home's energy performance. This can include air sealing and insulation, upgrading windows and doors, and selecting the highest efficiency equipment. 

These measures not only lower your carbon footprint but also reduce your utility bills and improve thermal comfort. Before you start dreaming about tile or paint colors, start with a whole-house energy assessment to identify opportunities for performance upgrades.

In our Quiet, Comfortable, and Low-Carbon project, we replaced drafty windows with triple-glazed units and added air-sealing and insulation to reduce highway noise and boost efficiency. With the aging oil boiler on its way out, we installed high-performance heat pumps and upgraded all the lighting to efficient LEDs. A new rooftop solar array capped off the improvements, resulting in a quieter, more comfortable home with an estimated 75% reduction in energy use and carbon emissions.

2. Ensure Good Indoor Air Quality

We spend 90% of our lives indoors, much of it in our homes. Many people don’t realize that reducing air leakage not only improves efficiency but also reduces infiltration and air exchange between living spaces and attached garages, basements, and attics.

Other key steps include eliminating existing contaminants such as radon, mold, or pests; providing effective ventilation, ideally with a balanced ventilation system; and selecting finishes, products, and furnishings that won’t off-gas potentially harmful volatile organic compounds.

When installing a central forced-air HVAC system, make sure it has good filtration, ideally MERV 13. If you don’t have a central forced-air system (or even if you do), you can improve indoor air quality with a portable HEPA filter.

In our Triple Play project, we focused on improving indoor air quality in the basement. We sealed gaps to keep out air and pests, insulated the walls, and installed triple-pane windows. A ductless minisplit provides efficient heating and cooling, a dehumidifier removes excess moisture, and an energy recovery ventilator ensures balanced, healthy air year-round.

3. Go All-Electric

Moving away from fossil fuels is one of the most effective ways to reduce your home’s carbon footprint. Heat pumps for space and water heating, as well as induction ranges and cooktops, can all run on renewable electricity. And as the grid gets cleaner, so does your home.

In A Condo Reconfigured and Fossil Fuel Free, the homeowner - a Mothers Out Front activist - wanted to fully transition off of gas. We installed a ducted heat pump system, upgraded to a heat pump water heater, and insulated previously uninsulated walls. High-performance windows and a kitchen and bathroom remodel rounded out the improvements. After our work wrapped up, the couple added solar panels, making their home not only more beautiful and functional, but also completely fossil fuel free.

4. Keep What Works

Not everything has to go, or change. One of the most sustainable remodeling strategies is to make surgical rather than wholesale changes to your home, and retain existing elements. Original trim, hardwood flooring, and even old doors can often be repaired, refinished, or repurposed. This strategy reduces waste, preserves your home’s character, and is often less expensive. 

In A Kitchen Renewed, we relocated the sink to a central island to make room for a large sliding glass door that opens to skyline views and fills the space with natural light. We preserved the home’s Victorian charm by salvaging and reusing honey-colored pine wainscoting, extending it to a new window seat and laundry room door for a seamless blend of old and new. 

5. Choose Low-Carbon, Sustainably Sourced, Durable Materials

When selecting new materials, prioritize options that are low in embodied carbon, sustainably sourced, and durable. For additions, consider using low-embodied-carbon concrete and Glavel - a 100% post-consumer recycled foam glass - for subslab insulation. Whenever possible, choose carbon-storing insulation materials such as cellulose and wood-fiber board, along with wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

For fixtures and finishes, look for reclaimed materials or those with high recycled content, such as IceStone counters. And always choose materials that will stand the test of time, a product that lasts for decades is far more sustainable than one that needs to be replaced every few years.

6. Design for the Long Term

The greenest remodel is one that stands the test of time. Whether you’re aging in place, planning for a growing family, or simply thinking ahead, invest in a design that is flexible and adaptable to changing needs. At Byggmeister, we believe good design isn’t just beautiful, it’s functional for decades to come.

In Home Sweet Forever Home, a couple purchased their 1960s ranch in 2001 intending to live there forever, knowing that updates would eventually be needed to ensure accessibility as they got older. By integrating an underused sunroom into the kitchen, we created a bright, connected space for cooking, entertaining, and enjoying the backyard.

Thoughtful upgrades, like a low-threshold shower with grab bars, wider doors, and smart storage, make the home safer and more functional as they age, while improvements to insulation, ventilation, and air sealing enhance comfort, air quality, and energy efficiency, all without sacrificing the home’s original 1960s charm.

7. Work with a Team that Shares Your Values

A sustainable outcome requires a team that’s aligned on priorities from the beginning. Look for a remodeling partner who is committed to ensuring that your home looks, feels and performs great years and even decades after you’ve signed off on the punchlist. Sustainability is baked into every project we take on at Byggmeister, from our design approach to the way we manage construction logistics to our dedication to your home for the long haul.

Remodeling sustainably isn’t about making sacrifices, it’s about making smarter choices that benefit you and your home. And with careful planning, those choices can yield long-term energy, carbon and financial savings, enhanced comfort, and a healthier indoor environment. 

At Byggmeister, we’re not just building better homes, we’re building a better future. If you're planning a home renovation with sustainability in mind, reach out to us to get started.