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Sustainable Living Ideas for Your Home
Have you been looking for ways to minimise your carbon footprint and make the most of the energy you use in your home? By living a sustainable life and making your home more eco-friendly, you’ll not only make efficient use of resources but will help protect the environment. By practising sustainable living in your home, you’ll provide yourself with a better quality of life. There are many ways you can do this, from recycling to reduce waste to installing energy-efficient systems and upcycling furniture, to name but a few.
Some sustainable living ideas are more expensive than others but will be worth the investment in the long run when it comes to saving on your energy bills and helping to prevent the planet from further harm. Whether you’re looking for decorating ideas or planning to build a new home, keep reading to find out more.
Recycling and upcycling
Nowadays, people rarely purchase only what they need, especially when it comes to buying food. Unfortunately, this leads to a lot of food waste with things going out of date, which then ends up in landfills. This has a detrimental effect on the environment as it later produces methane gas. If your household has a high amount of food waste, why not consider using it as compost for your plants in the garden? Alternatively, you could spend some time forming a food list only to buy the items that you need.
As well as recycling food waste, you can also look to upcycle items in your home, such as furniture. Creating your own sustainable things rather than buying from companies who mass produce is a great way to help the environment, as, like food waste, unwanted home items often end up at a landfill too. If you don’t fancy a bit of DIY, you could opt for already made furniture pieces comprised of recycled wood or metal.
Limit plastic use
We use or consume plastic almost every day, but what if we were to start swapping it out for more eco-friendly alternatives. Recycling is great; however, if we didn’t use it in the first place, it would be even better. Next time you go to the supermarket, take a canvas bag with you to limit the need for plastics carriers. If you’re someone who drinks bottled water as you don’t like to drink straight from the tap, then invest in a water filter to refill every time you need a drink. There are many ways to reduce the amount of plastic we use, and small changes can significantly impact a much bigger picture.
Lighting and energy-efficient technology
One of the most inexpensive ways to make your home more sustainable is to swap any incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent lamps or LED bulbs instead. You can also swap your usual electrical appliances for energy-efficient technology such as smart meters. By installing smart technology throughout your home, you’ll never have to worry about leaving the heating or air conditioning on again. Heating and cooling systems consume the most energy in homes, and landlords, tenants and homeowners are often faced with large energy bills at the end of the month.
Wasting energy can have a significant impact on the environment, so energy-efficient technology provides an ideal solution to those wanting to reduce their carbon footprint. Smart meters can limit the amount of energy that we waste as you’re able to programme exactly when you want to turn the system on and off. Nowadays, most residential properties come with smart meters already fitted to help investors and tenants live a more sustainable life. Property investment companies like RWinvest recognise the importance of eco-friendly technology such as eco-heating and lighting systems and promote green buildings as an excellent investment for the future.
Eco renovations
If you have a bigger budget to spare, you could look to make use of the sun and install solar panels. Solar panels generate electricity from the sun during the day that is then transmitted throughout the property. By using this passive energy source, it reduces dependency on the need for fossil fuels which can be harmful to the environment. Those who choose to use renewable energy sources to power their properties will save money on bills and live in a more sustainable home.
Extensive eco renovations can be more of a long-term investment as the initial cost might be expensive. Still, the reward for becoming more eco-friendly is often worth it, not to mention the amount you will save on energy bills!
In addition to adding solar panels to your roof, you can also insulate the walls and floors to help minimise the need of turning the heating on. With fully insulated walls, ceilings and floors, it will maintain a pleasant temperature throughout your home all year round. Another way to keep the heat in is to install double-glazed windows if you don’t have them already. Again, this can be costly, so a less expensive alternative might be to add some thermal curtains when renovating.
