5 Eco-Friendly Ways to Renovate Your Home
At this point, we already face the consequences of climate change, and there will only be more environmental challenges in the future. The rising awareness results in more and more people deciding to improve their lifestyles to make it kinder to our planet and as eco-friendly as possible, given each person’s unique circumstances.
If we want to be more environmentally friendly, there’s a lot that needs to be done, starting with changing our behaviour and transforming the world around us. Luckily, there’s no shortage of technological advances that can help us reduce our carbon footprint by improving our homes with modern and innovative, greener solutions.
This article will guide you through the basics of renovating and updating your house to live in a way that’s better for Mother Nature. The tips included below range from replacing old appliances with new smart ones, installing solar panels, buying reclaimed wood, and other topics. Read on to learn more about making your house more sustainable.
Buy Reclaimed
When renovating your home, try to resist the temptation of buying everything new and shiny. Instead, consider more eco-friendly options, such as reclaimed wood for building your own furniture like a coffee table or a fireplace mantle, or a beautiful reclaimed oak flooring; what’s more, it will also allow you to get quality, stylish materials for a fraction of their original price.
Reclaimed wood is not only an environmentally aware choice, but it’s also an incredibly elegant and versatile option that is growing in popularity in all sorts of home renovation projects.
If you take some time to browse a little, you should be able to find the most worthwhile and durable options, such as oak, cherry, maple, or even mahogany, and you’ll pay only a chunk of the price you’d have to pay for the same wood if you got it brand new.
Install Solar Panels
One of the best ways to improve your home while also reducing its carbon footprint is to install solar panels. This investment might be quite pricey at first, but it will pay off over time since solar panels are incredibly effective and will help you save money on your electricity bills. When properly installed, solar panels are very reliable and produce plenty of power for a low price.
You can use solar panels in combination with other renewable energy sources such as wind turbines or geothermal heating systems. Solar panels can be installed in many different ways, and you can even choose to have them in your backyard on a special frame, but if you want to achieve a unique and stylish look for your home, consider installing them on your roof so they can blend in with the rest of the structure.
Get Energy-Efficient Appliances
If you’re planning to replace your old washing machine or dishwasher, you might want to consider getting a more energy-efficient model, which will be much better for the planet and help you save some cash on your electricity bills in the long run. Make sure to look at energy labels on products and take your time to find appliances with the best rating for the size you need.
If you’re up for a bigger project, you can also decide to replace your old furnace with one that uses natural gas to heat your home without releasing harmful chemicals into the environment. Depending on the furnace that you choose, you should be able to reduce heating costs by 50% to even 70%. Additionally, if you ever decide to sell your home, a gas furnace will increase its value significantly.
Insulate Your Attic and Walls
One of the best things you can do to save energy and reduce your carbon footprint is insulating your attic and walls. It can be a relatively easy and inexpensive project, depending on the materials you choose and the skills you have, but it will bring you great benefits in the long run.
Adding insulation to your attic can not only help you save up to 50% on your heating bills but it will also make your home more comfortable and reduce the chance of mould growth. In addition, having insulated walls will help keep your house cooler during summer heatwaves, so you won’t have to use your air conditioning as much, and you will lower your electricity bill this way.
Use a Smart Thermostat
Smart thermostats learn a household’s patterns and adjust heating and cooling according to when a home is occupied or is about to be occupied. Compared to the amount of money they can save you, they’re not very expensive. You can install one either by yourself or hire a professional to do the work for you.
With a smart thermostat, you can monitor and control temperatures from wherever you are, and you can program it to adjust the temperature automatically to a comfortable level depending on the time of the day and your presence at home. This means that when you’re not at home, the system will automatically lower the temperature to reduce energy consumption, but when you arrive home, it will be nice and warm.
In Conclusion
As you can see, there are numerous ways to make your home more eco-friendly and start living more sustainably. The above tips will help you change the way you live, and they’re all relatively easy to implement. Try them out, and soon enough, you’ll see the benefits of living in an eco-friendly home
Whether you decide to start buying reclaimed wood, decide to install solar panels, or replace your old appliances with new, energy-efficient ones, it will be a great step to make your house more comfortable and better for the environment. You should also consider insulating your attic and walls and start using a smart thermostat to lower your energy consumption and bills.
