There are many ways in which you can make alterations both to the way you live and the condition of your home to ensure that you are living in a more environmentally friendly household, this will not only contribute to easing the pressure we all put on our planet, it will also lower your utility bills dramatically. Here are a few tips for creating your own eco-friendly home.
Changes in the home
Install skylights in your roof. This allows natural sunlight to light up your home free of charge, especially in rooms which are the darkest. Sunlight is much more effective than any bulb, and the light will flow through a lot of the area in which the skylight is installed.
Install solar power panels.
Solar heating will give you energy for the house in lots of ways. It heats up water water at most the most basic level. Solar power is pure, clean energy. As an additional benefit, the extra energy can be moved to a battery and saved for use later however, remember that this can increase your costs substantially, with respect to the size battery. Solar powered water tanks can warm saved water for any reason you may need it, including taking showers and even having a cup of tea.
Low wattage light bulbs
These are a good way in order to save energy easily. They plug directly into any lighting unit and consume less energy. Some are even brighter than standard bulbs even though they are consuming much less energy.
Consider using motion sensor bulbs for both inside and outdoors.
These will prevent you from leaving the room without turning the lights off. Outdoors, they are able to save lots of money on wasted electricity but will illuminate your path towards the door if needed. They are forms of good thief preventives, because the sudden switching on of the light is extremely disturbing when not expected.
Don’t leave electrical appliances on standby
When switching off the TV or stereo by the remote means that the appliance is going into standby mode. Standby mode means that there is still a considerable amount of electric being used up to power the appliance. Turning off at the switch or even by the socket will reduce energy consumption and help to reduce your bills.
Avoid using the tumble dryer
When possible try top dry clothes naturally as after the fridge the tumble dryer is the biggest consumer of electricity in any household, and although it is not used as often there is a large amount of energy required to power one. If a tumble dryer is used it is best that the clothes are as dry as possible before going in to ensure shorter use.
Other small changes
Why Everybody Should Recycle
Recycling is kind of like working out: everyone knows we ought to get it done, but not every one of us gets it done as frequently as we should and some people don’t get it done at all. However, there are plenty of reasons why you need to try to recycle whenever possible.
Recycling doesn’t have to be boring
There are several recycling ideas which you may not have considered, many of which include items which can be re-used within your home, here are a few ideas to be considered.
Old CDs and DVDs which are scratched and no longer usable have many alternative uses, for instance they are great for using as reflectors on bicycle wheels and entrances to driveways. They are also great for making funky coasters by attaching some felt to the back of them.
Toothpaste tubes are great for the kitchen as they can be used as knife protectors to prevent any nasty accidental cuts.
When you have used a lemon or lime for cooking, don’t throw them away as when mixed with salt they can be great for cleaning counter tops in the kitchen.
Did you know that you can compost things like milk, mouldy cheese and cotton cloth?
Old pots and pans are great to keep for things like pet dishes or outdoor cleaning.
If you have an open fireplace, a good way to start the fire is by using old paper towel holders filled with dryer lint.
By making the small alterations to your home and altering the way that you deal with waste are great ways to make your home more environmentally friendly, and not only are you helping to protect the environment we live in, your bank balance will also feel the difference when your household bills drop significantly.
