11 Ways to Make Your House Greener

Plus, they make your life easier since they help you reduce household waste. Single-use plastic and CO2 emissions are the biggest sources of pollution. Not everybody can afford solar panels or Energy Star appliances, but we can all make smaller changes in our own homes. These changes are budget-friendly how to make your home more environmentally friendly and they don’t take a lot of time; they are however efficient and they can turn your home into an eco-friendly place. By adding native plants and trees to your landscape, you allow less water to be used for irrigation. While this means less maintenance, it also means less use of nature’s resources!

• Climate tech company Sealed reports the average home loses up to 50 percent of its heat through the top of the house thanks to under-insulated or unsealed attics.
• Traditional toilets can use up to 7 gallons (26.5 L) of water per flush.
• Some parts that make up electronics can be recovered and made into new items, so they must be disposed of properly—don’t throw them in the trash!
• If you’re thinking about selling or renovating your home, trying to lower your energy output, or simply want to save money on your monthly bills, you’ve come to the right place.

Electronic waste, or e-waste, encompasses any unwanted electronic equipment including old computers, televisions, smart phones, and used cables. These contain toxins such as mercury, lead, beryllium, and arsenic, which can be harmful to the environment and our health. Some parts that make up electronics can be recovered and made into new items, so they must be disposed of properly—don’t throw them in the trash! To help reduce e-waste, keep electrical products for at least seven years, or donate them when you’re done. Before choosing supposed sustainable flooring, wallpaper, furniture, or any other type of home decor, ask where the item comes from and what it’s made from.

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You often need to find a contractor who can work with these products and source them at reasonable prices. Scientists have become creative when it comes to recycling everyday products into usable building materials. Putting weather stripping around doors and windows will save you money on your heating and cooling bill, and will make your home more energy-efficient. Turning off halogen lights when not in use can also help reduce energy bill since they use the same technology as incandescent light bulbs. Ninety percent of incandescent light bulbs’ energy use is given off as heat while only ten percent results in light. With a smart thermostat, it’s easy to schedule your HVAC to run less while you’re out for the day, so you’ll use less energy by cooling your home only while you’re in it.

Photo by Photographee.eu / ShutterstockAn eco-friendly home strives to reduce its impact on the environment by using renewable resources and reducing energy consumption and waste. You can build an eco-friendly home or retrofit an existing one to make it more environmentally friendly. Photo by Diyana Dimitrova / ShutterstockSustainable implies that a product or practice can be sustained for an extended time. So, sustainable living would be a lifestyle that you could maintain long-term without damaging the environment. A sustainable home refers to the physical shell of the house and its constriction.

Tip #4: Ask Questions about your products

Put some (or all!) of these easy tips into practice to be friendlier to the planet and your wallet. There are a lot of misconceptions about living an eco-friendly lifestyle, particularly the idea that it’s expensive, inconvenient, and requires a full head of dreadlocks. Your local authorities, as rainwater harvesting is not allowed everywhere https://ecosoberhouse.com/ and may be subject to regulations that help replenish depleted aquifers. Rainwater is harvested through your gutters before being filtered and stored for use as gray water. This water can be used to clean the outside of your home or vehicles, to water outdoor landscaping and can even be used as toilet water or water for your washing machines.

Most thermostats have an energy-saving setting to help you regulate the temperature in your home. With a programmable thermostat, you monitor your cooling and heating consumption. Changing settings for when you’re away from home, adjusting the temperature based on the weather outside and using smart settings to regulate temperature has never been easier. Solar panels are one of the best ways to make your home more sustainable and can reduce your energy bills. If you need to connect to the grid you will face challenges.

Install Solar Panels

For paint, opt for brands that are Greenguard certified or ones that contain little-to-no volatile organic compounds . Older toilets use as much as six gallons per flush, while newer, more efficient toilets use about one gallon or less. To install a rainwater collection system, consider hiring a professional to clip your gutters and redirect them to pour into the barrel.

Switching to paperless billing lowers the odds of losing bills in the mail and getting the electricity cut off right before your movie marathon. For more sustainable living, these leaks need to be repaired. Leaking toilets and faucets may not seem like a big deal, but they can waste a lot of water. Overall, choosing artificial grass can keep the look and feel of a well-maintained, lush lawn without the added time and expense of a natural lawn.

Installation of Solar Panels

If you are looking to save money, you can even make your own eco-friendly furniture from recyclable or reclaimed materials. Although CFL & LED lights are costly alternatives, they are an eco-friendly choice and last longer than regular light bulbs. This may seem like a small change, but it can have remarkable results in lowering energy consumption. To start, it reduces the amount of water that needs to be pumped from the ground, which conserves energy. Second, it reduces the demand for municipal water supplies, which helps conserve water. Third, it reduces the amount of runoff from your property, which can help prevent flooding and erosion.