4 Steps Towards Creating an Eco-Friendly Home
Your home is where you live, where you eat and sleep, and where you’re able to relax. It’s where you can sit and read a book for hours on end, or binge-watch shows on Netflix without feeling the slightest bit guilty. Your home is special. A part of that comes from the atmosphere that you create inside. Some people use color to show that they’re eccentric and others use muted tones for a more calming atmosphere. One thing that more and more people are renovating their homes for is so that they can make their homes more eco-friendly. Contractors are skilled at making the changes, and it helps the homeowner to love their homes even more.
1. Look into Solar Panels
A dozen years ago, roof solar panels were still extremely uncommon to have on the roof of a single home. The concept of solar-powered electricity was created in the 1800s, the idea as a large-scale panel that could be installed on the roof of a house and then connect back to the main power lines was largely unheard of. That idea is still fairly new, but it is gaining traction fast. There are many reasons why you should consider using rooftop solar panels on your house. First, after the first 7 years, they pay for themselves. After that, you’re getting electricity for free, and you’re not adding any pollution to the air as soon as they’re installed.
2. Replace All Your Light Bulbs
If you have a new home, this might not be an issue for you. Older homes, however, use incandescent bulbs which are extremely inefficient. The newer light bulbs, LED lights, are much more efficient when it comes to conserving energy. They are cheaper to use and better for the environment. Go through all your lights and make sure that all of them have been converted over. To go the extra mile, be smart about when you use lights. Only turn on the lights when it’s too dark to see outside and always turn off the light in a room when you’re not there. There’s no need to light an empty room.
3. Start Your Own Compost and Garden
When you throw out the trash, it all ends up in a dumpster when goes into a landfill. Contrary to what you might think, the garbage truck doesn’t make trash disappear. All it does is move your trash somewhere else. Be more conscious about what you throw away and if you’re tossing something that can be composted, then compost it. The easiest way to compost if to do it in your backyard in some kind of large container. Keep it closed and toss the old fruits and vegetables into the trash. Then, you can use that as the compost that you would put into your garden. That way you’re not wasting any food, and you’re using old food to grow the new.
4. Make Sure Your Home is Insulated
We’re always picky about the temperature of our homes. We can’t have it too hot, and we can’t have it too cold. There’s a reason why “room temperature” is a thing. It’s because people are picky. Most of the bills paid every month to have to do with heating and cooling (gas and electric). Something you can do to make sure that your home stays a comfortable temperature but also keep your environmental footprint small is by insulating your home. Check with a contractor to see if your home has enough insulation and if it doesn’t, make sure to add some. It will keep your home cold in the summer and warm in the winter while using less electricity and gas.
If you want to live in a guilt-free home (when it comes to the environment) make the changes that you need to make. Most of the changes are easy to do and will make your life easier rather than harder.