Are you looking to live a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle? You don’t have to make drastic changes to reduce your carbon footprint and environmental impact. Making some simple green additions to your home is an easy and affordable first step away. Here are the top five eco-friendly upgrades to create a more sustainable living space.
Smart Power Strip
Idle electronics constantly draw power, resulting in wasted energy and money. So-called “vampire power” can account for up to 10% of your home’s electricity usage. A bright power strip is an easy way to eliminate this drain.
Unlike a regular power strip, an intelligent strip automatically cuts power to devices when not in use. Connect your television, computer, gaming consoles, and peripherals like printers and speakers.
When you turn off your primary device, the intelligent strip senses this and stops supplying power to idle accessories. This means no more having to remember to unplug everything individually.
Bright strips are also Energy Star certified and deliver significant energy savings over time. So, you’ll reduce your electricity bills while shrinking your household’s emissions.
Programmable Thermostat
Heating and cooling accounts for nearly half the average home’s energy consumption. But why should you waste money by heating or cooling an empty house? Lower your utility bills and emissions output by installing a programmable thermostat instead.
You can set this device to automatically adjust temperatures based on your schedule and program it to lower heating or raise cooling when you’re typically away at work. Then, have it return to a comfortable level before you arrive home. The same goes for overnight while sleeping.
Generally, the ideal home temperature range is 68°F for heating and 78°F for cooling. Even a one-degree adjustment from these ideal settings can impact your energy usage—nudging the thermostat higher or lower by a single degree can result in approximately 3% more or less energy consumption for heating and cooling annually.
Having a programmable thermostat makes sticking to these energy-saving temperature ranges easier. You can schedule automatic adjustments to reach those prime levels only when you’re home and awake, avoiding unnecessary heating or cooling when away or asleep.
Solar Lights
Illuminate your outdoor spaces in an energy-free and eco-friendly way with solar-powered lights. These fixtures contain a small solar panel that charges an internal battery during daylight hours. Then, once it’s dark, the lights automatically turn on and run off that stored energy.
Solar lights require zero electricity and no wiring for installation. They’re perfect for lining pathways, highlighting garden areas, and adding decorative ambiance to decks, patios, or porches. You’ll create a warm, welcoming glow while decreasing your energy bill.
Since solar lights are inexpensive and installation is easy, there’s no reason not to adopt this green lighting solution. So, swap them for traditional electric outdoor fixtures to eliminate that energy drain.
Rain Barrel
In order to live sustainably, water conservation is essential. A rain barrel allows you to harvest rainwater from your roof and store it for later use. Not only is this better for the environment, but it can reduce your water bills.
The soothing ambiance of falling rain refilling your barrel can make your backyard feel like an escape. You can then use that collected water for irrigating flowerbeds or vegetable gardens. It’s also perfect for washing cars, windows, and outdoor surfaces instead of municipal-treated water.
In areas prone to drought, rain barrels allow you to maximize scarce water resources while skipping the high costs of utility water for outdoor use. Collecting precipitation also helps reduce stormwater runoff into sewers and waterways.
Indoor Garden
Why not harness the power of hydroponics and start an indoor garden for fresh herbs, microgreens, and vegetables year-round? An indoor growing system allows you to cultivate plants without an outdoor garden space.
Many of these compact gardening units run on highly efficient LED grow lights to provide plants the spectrum they need for photosynthesis. More advanced systems even have self-watering and fertilizing features built-in.
With an indoor garden, you’ll enjoy the convenience of nutritious homegrown produce right at your fingertips. You’ll also avoid packaging waste and transportation emissions from store-bought produce. Some units can even grow enough for a small family’s needs.
Green it Up
Making your home more environmentally friendly is more accessible and more affordable. Consider investing in some green additions to create a more sustainable living space. Small, simple changes can add up to make a big eco-friendly difference.
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