Five Eco-Friendly Changes You Can Make To Your Home

Right across the world, more people are changing how they live their lives to adapt to the green issues.

There are many reasons for this. There is so much more social consciousness around the environment due to reports from the likes of the New York Times, who recently expressed concerns about a potential 50% increase in wildfires brought on by a lack of climate control. Also, people are looking to stave off the ever-increasing Energy costs, which are hitting record levels across the country, and the world.

As part of the move to save the environment and money, many people across the United States, have made substantial changes to their homes over the past few years, and that trend is set to continue. Many of those renovations have come from large and small green projects, so if you’re considering updating your home to make it more eco-friendly but are unsure where to start, we’ve listed a few options for you.

Switch out your light bulbs

You might not think that this could make much of a difference, but lighting accounts for around 9% of a typical home’s energy use. With a current average energy bill coming in at around $115 it means in lighting alone, you’re paying around $10.35.

With LED lightbulbs being up to 75% more efficient than standard light bulbs, it could translate to you paying about $7.75 less per month to illuminate your home if you made the switch to LED.

Convert to solar energy

While considering electricity, one of the most widely utilized changes comes in the form of Solar Panels. In a post on how much solar panels cost by Hoymiles, it is explained that one in seven US homes could have solar panels by 2030, and with good reason.

Rising energy costs are forcing people to seek new methods of powering their homes, and the sun is one resource that isn’t going away. It’s also a clean, renewable energy source, meaning not only is it cheaper for you, but the environmental impact is far less severe than conventional methods of powering your home.

Install artificial grass

Over one-third of the water we use is used to keep our lawns healthy, which equates to around 4 billion gallons per day across the country. So if you were to have some artificial turf installed by a reputable company, which could last up to around 20-25 years, the average homeowner would save around 99,000 gallons per year.

By doing so it could equate to as much of a saving as $500 on your water bill and not take up more of the earth’s natural resource.

Is wind power an option?

Wind turbines are more widely used on farmland or even floating offshore, but if you have real estate, installing a small one on your land could benefit you. Wind power is more stable than solar, and a good-sized turbine can generate most if not all of our electricity needs.

Like solar options, using wind means that if there are to be extended utility outages from traditional sources, it won’t matter as you’ll have an uninterrupted power source of your own.

Seal gaps around doors and windows

One very low-cost option to help your home be more efficient is to stop the air from leaving your home. If you have gaps around doors and windows, the air from your HVAC or heating system will be heading literally straight outside.

This will increase your energy bill as your system will work harder, so if you want to keep your home cooler in summer or warmer in winter and save some money, head to the hardware store and get some weather stripping.

There you have it, our list of handy hints to help you make your house more eco-friendly. If you liked our list of tips, and want to know even more about green building and its effects on the environment, then take a look at our article here on Earth Eclipse.