How to Transform Your Home to Be More Sustainable

The impact our individual actions have on the Planet are becoming increasingly more known among individuals. The negative effects of global warming and climate changes are becoming more apparent as well respiratory diseases developed as a result of breathing in polluted air.

It is easy for people to conform to their ways and not change their behaviours, as they assume that the action of one single individual will make little difference. However, this is far from being correct. If every single person starts to think about how their own behaviour impacts the environment, and adjusts their conduct in order to reduce their carbon footprint, this would have a massive positive effect on the planet Earth overall. There are small gestures everyone can do in order to achieve this, starting by your home and the way you live.

People may feel overwhelmed or concerned about the costs when they think about making their house more eco-friendly, although this does not have to be a complex or expensive process. In this article, we will advise you of how to transform your home to be more sustainable.

Improve Your Home’s Insulation

Insulation in your home is highly important as it essentially protects you from change in temperatures outside, draughts and leaks. If your home is not properly insulated, it means that you may suffer with a very cold house during winter times, resulting in more use of energy to heat up the place. There are some signs that indicate that your insulation system requires improvements, such as a cold floor and ceiling, wet walls and chilly draughts coming from the windows. If you feel these, either make some changes yourself to resolve this issue or have an expert come and take a look for you. Not only this will make your house more sustainable and eco-friendly, it will also be financially positive for you as you spend less money on energy bills.

Go For Double or Triple Glazing

As briefly mentioned already, draughts can come from the windows causing the home to feel cold and the heat indoors to escape. This is often caused by poorly installed windows that do not perform as effectively as they should. To avoid or resolve this problem, swapping single glazed windows for double or triple glazed glass is a smart move. Again, this makes your home more environmentally positive, as it ensures that you require less energy to be used.

Invest in Solar Panel Systems

Solar energy is becoming more popular as people are becoming more aware of the various benefits it comes with. Although individuals tend to assume that you cannot get solar energy systems in place if you live in an area where it is dark, gloomy and cold, this is absolutely not true. Solar panels require daylight in order to provide a source of energy, rather than the actual heat from the sun. This means that there should be no concern that this natural source of energy will not be enough to provide you with the amounts of energy you require to live comfortably in your home. Solar energy is a natural way of obtaining energy, making it a sustainable source.

Consider Renewable Heating Systems

Statistics show that most of the energy used in households are for water and space heating spaces. We have already discussed the use of solar energy as a sustainable alternative, however it remains important to consider other natural methods to heating your living space. These include heat pumps, which gather heat from the Earth – this means that it can be difficult to install it as you will need access deep underground, but it will be worth it. Additionally, you have the option of an air-source system, which utilises a similar approach to heat pumps, but instead it collects heat from the air.

Minimise Waste and Recycle Appliances

Recycling is one of the little steps that every single person can take in order to ameliorate their lifestyle and ensure that their negative impact on the environment is minimized. Although when we think about recycling, we instantly assume separating plastic from paper and food waste, we also need to think about the bigger issues, such as when we get rid of appliances, for example. If you are planning to remodel your home or have a few items that no longer serve you a purpose, either sell them, give them to someone in need or get Mobile Skips so that you can get rid of them effectively. Some companies take the environment seriously and will dispose of these items in an eco-friendly way for you.

Get a Recycling Bin and a Compost Bin

Getting a compost bin is an essential part of having a sustainable home, particularly if you enjoy gardening. You can recycle your food waste by turning it into compost to grow your plants. Store bought fertilizers often are created with many chemicals that not only damage the soil, it can also damage the health of the plant. This is particularly concerning if you are growing food, as whatever chemicals that are used to grow fruit and vegetables are then ingested by yourself.

Plant Herbs

The tip provided above may not be suitable for you if you do not grow plants – however, this is something that you can start doing. Having your own garden helps the environment, as you know plants naturally clean the air of toxins, and you also promote the survival and growth of smaller living creatures, such as insects. You do not necessarily need a big garden in order to accomplish this, you can simply have some plants in pots on the window sills and grow them by using the compost you created as discussed above. This helps the environment and ensures that you are eating the best organic fruit and vegetables.

Reclaim and Reuse Building Materials

If you plan on remodelling your property, it is natural that some materials will be used. A good way to achieve this whilst still helping the environment is to use materials that have been recycled. Some construction and demolition companies maintain materials that can be sold and reused, that once belonged to other buildings. Doing this avoids the manufacturing of further materials, which has great negative effects on the planet.

Decorate with Eco-Friendly Finishes

Decorating is an important part of your home – this will give it your own unique touch and add to the levels of comfort of your living space. You can still achieve this in an eco-friendly manner, by using sustainable products, which are widely available on the market. You can use eco-paints to decorate your walls, which are not toxic and are very easy to use. There are also wood finish varnish and wax options that are ecologically sustainable.

Improve Thermostats and Heating Controls

As we previously discussed, home energy is mostly consumed to keep the space warm. Evidently, this is essential so that you can stay warm during winter, particularly if you live in an extremely cold area. However, there are a few things that can be adjusted so that you stay warm and also still protect the environment. Whilst one degree may not make much of a difference to you, it makes a huge difference to the amount of energy consumed, thus impacting on the environment. You can ensure that your central heating system is programmed to function at strict and required times only and try to keep it to a low temperature.

Wash Your Clothes In Cold Water

Washing your clothes in hot water does not necessarily mean that they will be cleaner than using cold water. When it comes to washing machines, most of the energy used goes to the use of hot water – therefore you will be making major positive changes towards a sustainable environment solely by using the cold water setting of your appliance. This can significantly minimise emissions of carbon dioxide whilst still keeping your clothing items nice and clean.

Skip The Dryer When Possible

If you are lucky enough to live in a sunny area, it is always best to let your clothes air dry, instead of using a dryer. Even if you do not have a garden or outdoor area where you can hang your clothes, you can still invest in a good drying rack and hang your clothes near a window where the sunlight can come in and dry your clothes. Although having a dryer makes this process much easier and quicker, it has very negative impacts to the environment and it is not considered to be an essential way of using energy, as there are simple and sustainable alternative methods.

DIY Instead Of Buying New

Sometimes we get tired of looking around our living space, as it starts looking tired and old. Although the first instinct in these cases is to go to the shops and buy new things and get rid of the old ones, this is evidently not the most sustainable way of redecorating your place. A more green alternative is to DIY the items you already have. You can use the environmentally friendly products that we discussed above, in order to make old items look brand new and refresh your place. This will avoid unnecessary waste whilst making your house still look different and renewed, and the fact you do not have to spend a significant amount of money on new items is a bonus.

Swap Regular Light Bulbs For LED Bulbs

LED lights are a much better alternative to the traditional light bulbs. This is because they are eco-friendly, considering they do not use as much energy as fluorescent light bulbs. They also tend to last a lot longer. Although you are still using energy, the amounts consumed are fairly reduced and this will make you save money and energy.

Make Use of Blinds and Curtains

A great and cheap way to keep the heat in your home, even when you have poor insulation, is to use curtains and blinds. Although these are great in making sure no one can see inside your home, they can also keep the heat from escaping or allowing cold air to come through the windows, even when they are closed. On the other hand, curtains can also prove effective in the warmer days, as you can shield your home from the sunlight directly entering your home, making it feel like an oven. Using air conditioning systems consume as much energy as heating systems, therefore it is also very important to think about sustainable ways to keep the desired temperature levels during Summer.

Recycle Water

We are very familiar with the concept of recycling, although as stated previously, this is usually for materials such as paper and plastic. Water is very precious and essential and not everyone is lucky enough to have clean water at their disposal. We should never waste water and it should go without saying that you should use as little water as possible, by taking showers instead of baths, and make them as quick as you can. Additionally, something that not many people do, is to take advantage of the free water that falls from the sky occasionally in the form of rain. You can use this water to water your garden, flush toilets and fill your washing machine. You can use a specific harvesting system that collects rainwater and makes sure it is clean to use by getting rid of leaves and other debris.

Invest in a Water Filter

Depending on where you live, drinking water directly from the tap is not always recommended as it is treated with very harsh chemicals that can still be in the water when you drink it. This is why the majority of people opt to drink bottled water – however, as you can imagine, this creates tons of plastic waste that are severely detrimental to the environment. It is a better choice to invest in a water filter, which you can easily add to the taps of your home. This will ensure you always have clean water to drink and simultaneously reduce the amounts of plastic that goes to waste as a result.

It is highly important that we are all aware of the impacts we have on the planet and that we take action to change some of the negative behaviours. There are small things we can all do, like making some of the changes we discussed above to our homes, making it more sustainable and thus protecting the environment.