You don’t have to tear down your house and build anew or break the bank to make your home more environmentally friendly. You can do your bit in making the planet a better place by minimizing your wastage of energy and water resources and reducing the impact your home and your lifestyle have on the environment. Even something as simple as switching off your AC when it’s not required or getting it fixed if it seems faulty can go a long way in making your home more environmentally friendly. For more info on the best AC repair or other quick improvements on your house’s systems, there are plenty of professionals as well as online resources that might be able to guide you.
Good news is, going eco-friendly doesn’t mean you compromise on the quality of your lifestyle or make drastic changes on your house or the way you live. You simply adopt more efficient means to live. Here are ways to make your home eco-friendly.
Lighting
Switching off your lights when they are not in use even for a few minutes saves you a lot cumulatively in energy consumption. Better yet, you can install sensors that automatically turn the lights on and off depending on room occupancy reducing the cost of human errors. You can also have dimmers to control the light intensity as needed.
If you still have incandescent bulbs, then it’s time you replaced them with more energy-efficient LED bulbs. LED bulbs consume significantly less energy and emit less heat further saving you on cooling expenses for your house.
Water
You waste a lot of water by leaving your taps running. You will make savings on utility bills and conserve the environment by using water more efficiently.
Don’t leave the taps running while you brush. Turn it off and on as you need water. There is also a lot of waste if you do your dishes with the water running. Instead, wash your dishes in a basin.
Also, use the shower instead of the bathtub which needs more water for your personal hygiene needs. If you run a lot of water and use more soap before you get any lather then invest in a Shower Filter For Hard Water.
Cooling
Your air conditioner is one of the major contributors to your high electric bills so use it sparingly. Keep the windows open during the day for natural ventilation and only turn the air conditioner on when you have to.
Close all the windows and doors when your air conditioner is on. It will take less time to attain the desired temperature and thus consume less electricity.
More importantly, always check your home cooling system yearly as you do your home maintenance for any leaks and damages to the unit. You can do this with a company like https://tsshomecomfort.com/nampa-residential-air-conditioning-services/. An air conditioner in good condition is often more energy-efficient than one in poor condition.
Better yet, install fans that consume less power for your home cooling needs. If you’re looking in somewhere like California that is known to have extremely hot weather, you might want to look at someone like Home Team Electric to help you install a ceiling fan in your home. Although this still uses electricity, it doesn’t use as much as an air conditioning unit as it isn’t attempting to cool the air. Instead, it creates an airflow that results in a much more energy-efficient cool breeze.
Invest in energy-efficient appliances
As technology grows, so does the energy-efficiency of most common household appliances. Manufacturers are finding ways to develop more energy-efficient products and your old appliances are not only running on obsolete technology but consumes more power.
Worse, as an appliance ages, its efficiency goes down and it has to use more energy for any given task. This is true for your car, refrigerator and pretty much most consumer electronics.
It will pay off in the long run if you replaced your old appliances with better versions which are more energy-efficient.