How to Make Your Home Green in 2020
As climate change continues to dominate the headlines moving into 2020, how can we as homeowners do our bit to help the environment?
It’s no surprise that running a family home is energy-intensive. Everything from your washing machine to your computer is using energy and increasing your home’s carbon footprint. There are some ways, we as homeowners, can reduce our carbon footprint by taking smart and simple measures.
- Get an Energy Audit
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One of the best ways to join the ‘green revolution’ and start making your home more energy efficient is to book an energy audit.
An energy efficiency professional will come to your home and assess the current efficiency rating. They will then produce a detailed report that will show you the best changes you can make to save energy for your particular house and improve the energy rating (which also adds value to your house).
There are many small changes that you would never have thought about that an energy audit can reveal. Things like how airtight your home is, specific spots you are losing heat and the efficiency of your boiler.
- Renewable Energy Installations
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The new focus on green homes has opened the market up to affordable eco-friendly products making these eco-home changes easier than ever before.
The most popular renewable energy installation choice for homeowners is Solar PV. The cost of solar panels has continued to drop year on year since their introduction to the market. With a cheap installation cost and the ability to get all your electricity for free from the sun, you can quickly get a return on your initial investment.
Other key renewable energy installations to consider include solar thermal for hot water supply, poly tanks for rainwater use and loft insulation to trap precious heat in your home.
- Install a Smart Meter
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You have a smart TV and a smartphone, now it’s time to get a smart meter. This nifty piece of technology allows you to take control of your home’s energy usage.
Once you install a smart meter you an program it so that your heating only comes on during certain times of the day, mainly when people are inside and require the heat. You can also program it to heat up just before you arrive home from work, cool down just before you leave for work and you can analyze the data to make smarter decisions that save you energy and money.
- Change Your Light Bulbs
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Probably the simplest change you can make quickly is to change all your lightbulbs to energy-efficient ones. You will be amazed at how much energy your existing bulbs use throughout the day which then builds up over the year costing you a small fortune.
Energy-efficient light bulbs are now affordable and available in most homeware stores.
- Recycle & Compost
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Think about how much waste you go through each week in the form of food packaging, food waste, and general trash. It’s a lot! Over a year it’s a huge amount of waste that gets thrown in the trash and put in a landfill for hundreds of years until it degrades.
To help reduce your waste you should actively recycle your waste where possible. Make sure all family members are involved, create separate bins for each type of waste and for food you can buy or make your own composter. Simply put the composter in the backyard, fill it with waste food and let nature take its course.
