Moving towards a greener and low carbon world can begin within your home. By making changes in your home, you will not only consume energy more efficiently but can also contribute to the environment in your own little way.
There are lots of improvements that we can do in our homes that will benefit you in both the short and the long term. By making your home greener, you will save on energy costs and transition towards a renewable way of living.
The changes that you made today are an investment in a better future. If you’re getting started in designing your green home, here are 5 steps that will help you:
Install Solar Panels
If you’re considering making a long term investment that has both monetary and environmental benefits, then solar panels are the way to go. Solar panels generate clean electricity for your home that helps the environment and may even up the resale value of your home. They’re becoming an increasingly popular option for homes aiming to be more eco friendly.
Under perfect climate conditions, solar panels can cover a high percentage of your electricity needs. This means that the surplus energy generated can be sold back to the grid. Investing in solar panels means investing in a self-sufficient sustainable home that has many long term benefits.
Insulate Your Home
A well-insulated home can save you money especially during the cold winter months. They reduce the amount of heating you will need to use to keep your home warm.
Modern and newly built homes make sure that insulation is a big part of building the house. For properties that are decades old, you can still insulate your home and bring down your energy consumption costs every month.
There are various ways of insulating your house from floor to loft insulation which is a bigger project when you’re renovating your home to easier ways such as insulation your doors and windows. Installing double glazed windows is one way to trap heat inside the house and draft proof of your home. Nearly 50 percent of heat is lost through single glazed windows.
Get a Smart Meter
Smart meters are designed to help you control and manage your energy consumption which can easily be overlooked in a home. Installing smart meters is one of the easy measures you can take for conscious energy consumption.
During the cold winter months, it’s easy to turn on the heater and forget about it when leaving home. It could also be that you want your home to be warm enough when you enter after a cold day out.
In such cases, your heating bills will rise high and it’s not good for the environment either. Alternatively, by installing smart meters you can program it to turn on the heating shortly before you enter so that you’re not wasting heating in your home when it’s unused.
Use Energy Efficient Appliances
These days we rely heavily on appliances in our homes to make life easier. But, appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines, refrigerators, dryers, etc. consume electricity beyond imagination.
It is therefore important to invest in energy-efficient appliances that come with various energy-saving settings and modes. Look for appliances that have a high energy efficient rating as these are mid to long term investments in your home. Making such investments will also save you a lot on your monthly electricity bills, so they are a huge payoff.
Choose Renewable Heating Solutions
As mentioned earlier, heating is one of the biggest contributors to energy consumption. There are many renewable heating technologies that are worth considering. Heat pumps are one of them that will help you save money and energy. They’re an excellent option for both heating your home in an eco-friendly way.
During winter, the air from outside is compressed in the heat pump and warmer air is released through the radiators. Heat pumps are a considerable investment, and doing your research to find the best heat pump is a smart idea.
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