How to make your home more environmentally friendly in a few easy steps

 

If you are concerned about your carbon footprint and how it may affect the climate crisis, you may believe there is little you can do.

 

However, while this mindset is understandable, it is wrong to believe that there is nothing you can do to lead a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.

 

One of the most impactful ways you can reduce your carbon footprint is to make your home eco-friendlier. 

 

Your house is where you spend the majority of your time and will be your largest source of energy consumption. Although it is expensive and complex to completely rid yourself of any emissions, it is certainly possible to reduce your energy usage considerably.

 

You can do this in a number of ways. Most simply, you could fit your home with eco-friendly light bulbs, integrate smart capabilities into your taps, showers, and central heating system, and generally make sure that your electrical appliances are turned off when you aren’t using them. 

 

However, if you want to go further, you could fit renewable energy sources like solar panels or wind turbines, as well as make sure that your house traps as much heat as possible, which means that you won’t have to use as much energy heating it in the first place.

 

This is how to make your home more environmentally friendly in a few easy steps:

 

Retrofit your home with eco-friendly tech

One of the simplest ways to make your home more environmentally friendly is to retrofit it with easy-to-install eco-tech. 

 

This tech could include energy-saving light bulbs which use less energy and turn off whenever you walk out of the room (i.e., a smart lighting system), a smart central heating system that allows you to manually set the heating cycle and monitor how much energy you are using, and shower/bath timers which regulate how much water you are using every day.

 

Many of these changes are done through clean air initiatives, which encourage homeowners to cut down on their emissions and make the necessary changes. However, you need little incentive to make these changes, as, apart from the environmental benefits, they will likely save you money on your monthly bills in the long term. 

 

Make sure your home is properly insulated

Another great change you can make to your house to improve its eco-credentials is to fit high-quality roof and wall insulation. This will drastically reduce the amount of heat that escapes your home, making it far easier to heat your home and keep it at a constant temperature. 

 

A lot of older houses suffer from poor insulation, which causes owners to have to burn wasteful levels of energy just to keep the house relatively warm. This is damaging to the environment and to your bank account, too. 

 

Insulation might cost you upfront, but it is one of the best changes you can make to your house over time. 

 

You could fit solar panels to your roof

If you are serious about reducing your household carbon footprint, then one of the best decisions you can make is to start generating your own renewable energy. 

 

The most common way of doing this is to fit solar panels to the roof of your house. They will soak up the sun’s rays (even when it is cloudy) and generate electricity, ready for use in your home. 

 

While solar panels are not as pretty as traditional tiles, they more than make up for it with additional electricity, reduced energy bills, and a smaller carbon footprint. 

 

If you live in a windy area, consider fitting a wind turbine

Alternatively, if you live in an area that receives a lot of wind, then fitting a wind turbine could be a good idea. It takes up little space, and if you live in the countryside with a modest amount of land, then it is almost a no-brainer. 

 

Of course, it may cost you upfront, but you will gradually be able to become more self-sufficient and less damaging to the environment, which is a huge bonus. 

 

Make sure you turn electrical appliances off

While all the options listed above are great ideas, you don’t have to make a single change to your property in order to reduce your carbon footprint. 

 

All you have to do is stay on top of your energy usage. 

 

Turn off switches from the wall when you aren’t using them, make sure lights are only on when you are in the room, and be smart when using energy-intensive appliances like an oven. If you are only cooking one small piece of food, consider sticking some more items in there at the same time - it will make it a much more efficient process.