A greener home has many benefits, like lowering your bills, reducing your carbon footprint, and making your home energy efficient. It is easy to make your house green during its construction.
However, you can transform your current home into a greener home by making some adjustments. A green home should be ecological friendly or have minimal effects on the environment. The following factors contribute to transitioning your home into a greener home.
Insulation
While beginning to self-build, it is advisable to take a fabric first approach to keep your home airtight. Insulating your home will make it more energy-efficient hence you will save on energy costs. If you are already a homeowner, you can have insulation updates done to your house.
You achieve this by adding a cavity or solid wall to your house. Also, ensure that you have a well-insulated loft to prevent heat from escaping from above. Remember to insulate hot water tanks and water pipes too.
Use Natural Materials
Natural building materials are one of the earthy-friendly adjustments to your home. They are efficient when it comes to packing and transporting them, unlike artificial resources. Most of the natural building materials are also renewable with no risk of depletion. To make your house a green home, you should use materials like stones, wood, bricks, and straw. Besides being natural, straw also contributes to insulating your house.
Use Renewable Energy
The initial stages of installing renewable energy are expensive. However, the benefits that come with it are profitable over time. These sources offer low bills, with potential grants to refund you and help you pay your expenses. They also prevent you from getting energy from sources that promote pollution. Solar is an example of renewable energy which reduces your amount of carbon footprint. In addition, it is cost-free. Other examples of renewable energy include heat pumps and biomass boilers.
Reducing Electricity Consumption
If you can’t implement renewable resources, you can make your home greener by monitoring electricity use. Discover more ways to conserve electricity from https://www.trvst.world. You can also use energy-saving light bulbs such as LED light bulbs. They use less electric energy but work just like the other bulbs.
GreenHouse Grant application
The initial stages of transitioning to a Green Home could be costly. The GreenHouse Grant helps homeowners to apply for financing to make the necessary adjustments. The government has requirements for the improvements that are eligible for funding. Some of them include:
- Insulation of Cavity wall, floor, or loft
- Renewable energy sources installation.
- Replacing energy-efficient doors installed before 2002.
- Wind proofing.
Employ Reusing And Recycling Techniques
Get into a habit of finding secondary uses of items before throwing them. For example, recycle the plastic tins into storage cans. Adopt measures to collect and reuse rainwater. You can harvest rainwater and reuse it to irrigate the garden or flush the toilet.
One of the best things you can do for your home and for the planet is recycling. You can purchase recycled paper or make your own by tearing up old newspapers. There are even companies that will take your old, unusable rolls of tissue and turn them into recycled paper. Recycled toilet paper is just another way to reduce your carbon footprint because it saves trees, water, and energy. Get into a habit of finding secondary uses of items before throwing them. For example, recycle the plastic tins into storage cans. Adopt measures to collect and reuse rainwater. You can harvest rainwater and reuse it to irrigate the garden or flush the toilet.
Use Eco-Friendly Furniture
Consider getting furniture that is either upcycled or made from natural materials.
Install Smart Appliances
Embrace technology by installing the newly invented smart devices. Most of these devices are good when it comes to energy saving. Hence, they turn your home into a greener home and let’s enjoy fewer bills. Start by replacing your old Air Conditioner with an Energy star model to cut on costs. Go ahead and purchase the Nest Thermostat. Finally, install motion sensors to switch lights on and off to avoid energy waste.
Find Alternatives To Plastic Bags
Use cloth bags because they are more convenient than plastic bags. Cloth bags are reusable and do not pollute the environment like plastic bags. Moreover, using cloth bags will save your home from littering that comes with plastic paper bags. Cloth bags, unlike their counterparts, are biodegradable hence environmentally friendly.
Which Trees Can You Plant?
Opting for native plants is more rewarding because it does not require a lot of maintenance. They need less water for irrigation. Therefore, it encourages water conservation and is well suited for areas that experience drought. Besides irrigation, native plants do not require fertilizers or herbicides, making them cost-effective. More importantly, it makes your home greener beyond the literal meaning by providing habitat to wild insects and birds.
Environmentally-Friendly Paint
Choose paint with little or no Volatile organic compounds (VOC) to facilitate air quality in your home. VOC is that strong smell of paint that could cause serious ailments.
Fit Your Windows With Curtains
Curtains serve the purpose of privacy. They also play a part in energy conservation. Look for the curtains that prevent heat loss as well as deflecting light. Such curtains make your house warmer in winter and cooler in Summer.
The bottom line is transitioning your home into a state that will benefit the environment and your pocket.
