Making your home eco-friendly by reducing your energy consumption is better for your pocket and the planet. There are many ways you can make your home have an effect on the environment, and some methods cost more money to implement than others. If you are looking for ways to help the planet, save money, and know you are doing your bit, here is an overview of some of the most popular ways of making an eco-friendly home.
Reduce Energy
Reducing energy consumption has to be one of the key ways to make your home more eco-friendly, and one way to do this is to replace all the light bulbs with energy saving LED bulbs. If you have a TV on standby for several hours a day, turning it off at the plug can add to savings throughout the year.
Reduce your heating bill just by turning your thermostat down by one degree. Consider changing radiators to aluminium radiators as they heat up quicker, are more efficient and are cost-effective than traditional styles.
Other ways to reduce energy use is to dry clothes outside on a line, rather than using a drier, switching off the oven earlier that you normally would and using the heat inside to finish cooking a meal, and taking showers rather than bath often results in less water being used and heated.
Reduce Waste
We are all familiar with recycling and probably use different waste bin is our home on a daily basis. However, there is more we can do to reduce the waste in our homes. Try stopping the use of plastic cling film and aluminum foil, and look for alternatives instead, such as storage containers for left-over food or reusable sandwich wrappers.
Use vegetable food waste to make your own compost that you can use in your garden. Once you get into a habit of finding new uses for the things normally thrown away, it is amazing how much you can reduce your waste and save money.
Insulate
Insulating your home against the hot and cold weather will help you become more energy efficient. Decent loft insulation will help your home be warmer in the winter, reducing the need for extra heating. Lagging hot water tanks will also mean that less energy is needed to keep water hot. It is also worth checking to see if your cavity wall insulation is effective. If you feel that a wall is cold, you can consult with a company to fill the cavity, or have external or internal insulation added. If your windows are old, replacing them can save you significant amounts of cash of your annual heating.
If you don’t have the money to make big changes, such as installing solar panels, just making a few lifestyle changes can make a big difference to how much effect your home has on the environment. This could mean changing the way you use products in the home and making an effort to reduce waste and energy. Make some small changes, and see your home change to an eco-friendly one that’s better for you and the planet.
