As individuals have become more conscious about the environment and how they are personally impacting it through their daily actions, the drive to live an eco-friendly life has become a fascination for many. Despite this, many have falsely believed they must splash out on solar panels and temperature-regulating walls to make their home eco-friendly. In reality though, such expensive ‘investments’ are not really required to adopt eco-friendly practices within the home.
Sellhousefast.uk has compiled a handful of solutions to effectively make your home more eco-friendly without breaking the bank.
Control Heat Loss
One of the easiest ways to improve how energy-efficient your home is by checking how well the rooms, walls and floors are insulated. Not to mention, getting your home properly insulated will keep out unwanted moisture. And with an insulated home, you notice how much less energy for heating you will need to heat your home and even cooling in the summer months, in turn reducing your carbon footprint, and reducing the amount of chemicals released into the environment, if you use air conditioning units in the summer.
Smart Technology
With heating consuming a lot of energy within a household, especially during the winter, installing a smart meter could prove to be an ideal solution. A smart meter will enable homeowners the ability to control the times of the day they would most like the heating to be on. This means the heating does not need to be left on unnecessarily for long periods of time. Also, as a result, it will beneficially decrease energy bills. Additionally, when purchasing big (e.g. washing machines, dishwashers etc) and small (e.g. toasters, kettles etc) electrical appliances, check their energy efficiency rating on the product itself or online.
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Simple Hacks
Instead of leaving your TV on standby, unplug it when you are not using it to save electricity. Moreover, try keep your fridge in the shade, as if it is directly in the position of the sun, then it will be forced to work harder and thus, waste more energy. Where possible, use the microwave as opposed to the oven, as it approximately consumes 50% less energy.
Double-Glazed Windows
Replace single-glazed windows with double-glazed windows as they will provide better insulation against heat loss. Also consider wooden window frames as they are not only more environmentally-friendly but provide better insulation and last a long time. Furthermore, don’t use lights during the day when it is bright outside. Open blinds and curtains to utilise natural light as much as possible.
Energy Efficient Light Bulbs
Switch all your normal light bulbs to energy efficient light bulbs, as they will use significantly less electricity and last much longer. This also means you don’t have to repeatedly spend huge amounts of money to keep replacing them. According to UK magazine ‘Good to Be Home’, 66% more energy is saved by replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL).
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Replacing the Shower Head
Replace your conventional shower head in your bathroom with a low-flow showerhead to help with the household’s water conservation and reduce overall water usage. Again, per findings from ‘Good to Be Home’, a family of four can annually save an astonishing 160,000 litres of water by simply installing a low-flow showerhead.
Conclusion
Making these subtle changes to your home will not only make your home more eco-friendly but go a long-way in also reducing your monthly bills. From a long-term perspective, they may also add value to your property. Especially handy if you need to sell your property quicky, allowing you to maximise on its value as much as possible.
