If you want to go green in your home, and save a little money at the same time, it isn't difficult anymore. As the planet faces an uncertain future of global warming, which is believed to be the result of us all burning fossil fuels indiscriminately, we all have a responsibility to do the best we can to redress the balance. Here are some vital tips to help you get started.
Your home is where you spend a lot of your income and time to maintain, so it makes sense to be spending it as efficiently as possible. You can start to go green in your home by insulating most corners of your house. Loft insulation, wall cavity insulation, double or even triple glazing it will all make a tremendous difference. Or simply just apply caulk and weather stripping to insulate your home. Yes, there is an investment to consider, but you will save more money in the long term.
Most of us use too much water. Go green in our home means we have to be more aware of our water usage. We could all save one billion gallons of water a year by changing our old flush toilet cisterns. The old ones use about 3.5 gallons per flush, but the new high-efficiency ones use just over one and a quarter gallon. It makes a big difference! If you did only this to go green in the home you would save 20,000 gallons of water every year, and pay a lot less in water bills.
The standard light bulbs that most households have are very inefficient. Compact fluorescent light bulbs burn around 5% of the old bulbs and they last 10 times longer. They may cost slightly more to buy initially, but this is a easier way to go green and save a bundle in the long run. You can do even better by installing LEDs instead. The LED lights are almost twice as efficient as even the compact fluorescent light bulbs, and they will last up to 10 years.
Heat leaks out of a house in winter, and into the house in summer. Double check your loft, your wall cavities, your windows and your doors. Sort out all of these and you can go green in the home and really to save too.
Home utilities are a drain on energy! Unplug electronics when not in use, which can save you as much as 20% of power when not turned on. Look into the possibility of replacements of high-use utilities with an energy efficient air conditioner, furnace, dishwasher or water heater. Consider installing solar panels on your roof top to capture free heat from the sun.
Did you know that washing powders these days are so good that they don't really need hot water? Your washing machine uses most of its energy heating the water, so wash your clothes cold. Going green need not to be expensive, it is the consistancy of good habits that count!
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