With lockdowns in full force and movie theaters closed or working on becoming safer, you might be thinking that this is an excellent time to create your own movie theater at home. And if you’re on this website, you’re probably interested in making a home theater that’s as eco-friendly as it can be. So here are some tips and suggestions for creating a more sustainable home theater that will make you feel just like you’re at the movies. Without the exorbitant prices for popcorn.
Home Theater Equipment
All you need to create a home theater, really, is a screen, a dark room and a comfy seat. My bet, however, is that you’re planning on creating something a little more extensive than that. So let’s think about how to make eco-friendly choices around equipment.
First, take a minimalist approach to your set up. Think about how few pieces of equipment you can use and still get the experience you want. Given that every piece of equipment has been designed to be obsolescent in the near future, every item you don’t buy decreases the electronic waste that’s deluging the globe.
The central feature that you can’t go without, of course, is a display that will immerse you in the action. Your greenest options for a TV screen are going to be OLED or LED LCD.
As tempting as it is to go out and purchase the biggest display you can, remember that the larger the TV, the more energy it will use. Past a certain point (that will depend on make and model), it could be more energy efficient to install an LED projector instead.
If you decide on a projector, consider going without a screen and projecting onto a wall. Projection screens are usually made with vinyl, the production and by-products of which are an environmental nightmare. You can paint the wall or build your own projector screen out of canvas or other cloth.
Equipment and Energy Use
Your display, media players, AV receiver and speaker system will increase your home’s energy use by a fair margin (12%, according to ENERGY STAR). If you’re purchasing new equipment specifically for this project, choosing ENERGY STAR rated products can cut that additional energy use by 70%. Once everything is installed, you can find apps that will help you monitor your system’s energy use and tweak the settings to minimize the power it draws.
Whatever equipment you choose to watch movies or host a game server on, keep it all on a smart power strip. Smart, or advanced, power strips detect when your electronics aren’t in use and cut power off at the source, eliminating sneaky vampire loads that drive up energy use.
Creating a Home Theater
Whether you’re making a small space do double duty as a home theater, dedicating a room to your watching habits or building a theater from the ground up, there are many opportunities to make it green. In fact, the very things that your theater space needs are things that make your home more energy efficient.
You don’t have to have a separate room that you can dedicate to a home theater in order to make your cinematic experiences feel special. What you do need, though, is the ability to effectively control light and sound so you’re not distracted by the bustle of people and pets walking through your home or by the traffic going by outside it.
Windows
Your efforts to control light and sound are likely going to carry the added bonus of making your home more energy efficient. The air gaps that let outside noise into your home are the same ones that let heated or cooled air escape, so the more tightly caulked and energy efficient your windows are, for example, the less sound will penetrate into your home.
Windows with double or triple-glazed glass will keep outside air and noises on the outside better than single-pane glass. If replacing window glass isn’t in the cards, focus your energy on your curtains. Putting blackout curtains on existing windows limits heat transfer as you block light, improving the energy performance of your windows.
Insulation
If your theater is an addition, or part of a new build, limiting (or eliminating) windows will also make your theater space more energy efficient because walls can be insulated to a far greater R-value than windows. If your home theater project is a build or a renovation, it’s the perfect opportunity to add high-performance insulation materials that will stop the movement of air and soundwaves.
Many people recommend a double-layer of drywall with acoustical caulking in between to really keep sound where you want it to be. Putting MLV (mass-loaded vinyl) between drywall layers is also a popular and effective choice, but it will not be an environmentally responsible one. MLV is used under floors to reduce noise, as well, but we suggest soft, natural fiber rugs to dampen sound instead.
Finishing Touches
If you have a dedicated room for a home theater and it has a hollow-core door, consider replacing it with a solid one. Solid doors are much better at blocking sound. You can make sure your solid door (or the material you make it out of, if you DIY) is sustainable by looking for forestry labels like these: Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), CSA Sustainable Forest Management, Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), Australian Forest Certification (AFC).
And as a final note, if painting is a part of your theater project, whether it’s to paint a screen on a wall or to darken the space, stick to zero-VOC or natural paints. Not breathing in toxic paint fumes will definitely enhance your enjoyment of any movie you watch.
Feature image: Felix Mooneeram; Image 1: Dmitry Demidov
