A lot of homeowners are shifting towards eco-friendly trends today by transforming their homes into greener living spaces. You can opt to do the same thing to your house. Here are some tips that can help you make your home more eco-friendly and energy efficient.
Use Sustainable Construction Materials
The biggest advantage of building your own home is that you can customize it according to your tastes. Choosing green, sustainable construction materials can go a long way in making your home more eco-friendly. For instance, you can choose bamboo for the flooring and recycled glass for dining tables and kitchen countertops. Not only are these materials sustainable, but they are also affordable and extremely durable. You can speak to a local contractor about more sustainable materials you can use around your home during construction.
Use Smart Technology
While smart technology home additions were considered affordable only by wealthy homeowners, a lot of developments in the area have led to these smart home options being available even for budget conscious households. You can opt to add smart features like controls for thermostats, lighting and audio while easily integrating your home’s security features with your smartphone or tablet device.
How this can make your home green, you may ask. The use of smart controls to take care of your lighting and heating/cooling needs can reduce the wastage of energy as well as water. In the long run, this leads to a reduction of greenhouse gases as well. Thus, with smart technology, you end up reducing your carbon footprint, and enjoy reduced power and water consumption bills in the process.
Install Water Controls
The standard shower, toilet and faucet controls we use tend to waste a lot of water. One step you would need to take in order to make your home more eco-friendly would be to install upgraded water controls that don’t waste so much water. Low flow showerheads, dual flush toilets, touchscreen operated showers, touchless toilet flushes and touchless faucets are some controls that help you use just the right amount of water intended for the purpose, thus saving the environment as well as your hard earned money.
Choose Steel Doors
It may look a bit odd to welcome guests with a steel door in front of your house. However, unlike wooden doors, steel doors are very energy efficient. They retain heat and cold inside the home, thus reducing energy costs as well as energy wastage. Another great advantage of steel doors is that they are fire resistant as well, and can protect your house for at least 20 minutes before giving in.
Consider Solar Power
A lot of households are opting to install solar panels on their roofs in order to generate their own electricity. Installing solar panels in your home has numerous advantages, with energy savings and reduced energy wastage being the top benefits. If you cannot afford to buy these panels, consider contacting an energy company that deals with them. These companies will install the panels and take care of them while you buy your energy from the company for a reduced price.
Use Power Adapters
Many of us tend to forget to plug out the appliances that we use on a day to day basis. These appliances tend to draw power from the outlet even if they are switched off, thus leading to energy wastage. In certain cases, we even forget to off the outlets after using them (for ex: charging the phone and leaving the charger attached to the outlet without switching off the latter), thus leading to more energy wastage. A good way to avoid this is to use a power adapter which would go in between the outlet and the connected device. The adapter will gauge and supply the correct amount of energy the device needs to power up and automatically switch off the power supply to the outlet afterwards. This way, your energy bills will be reduced in half while your house will stop wasting energy.
Eco-friendly homes are becoming the need of the hour. From using sustainable construction materials, replacing wooden doors and installing solar panels to using smart appliances and power adapters, these tips will help you make your home a greener place to live.
