eco friendly house :: Justice For Earth

ECO-FRIENDLY HOUSE

(ADVICE AREA)

This advice area gives some quick easy tips to make your house more eco-friendly, energy-efficient and have a lower carbon footprint, as well as save you money. Your house is where you spend the most time in and use the most energy so it is important that you use as little energy as possible not only to save money, but also to reduce your carbon footprint. This advice area also gives you ways in which to make your house more eco friendly in other ways apart from reducing the footprint of your house.

(MOST EFFECTIVE) - Don't set your thermostat above 20 ⁰C - For every degree you go above this it will increase the energy needed by 6%-8%. Reducing your thermostat by just 1⁰C below can use 8% less energy for heating, and save 184kg of CO2 emissions (that's around £42 saving)
Switch to energy efficient LED bulbs - LED light bulbs cost more than conventional light bulbs, however they last for longer and also use one quarter of the energy of conventional bulbs. Energy saving bulbs have a reputation for looking 'cold' and 'unattractive' but modern bulbs get around this with special coatings and filters.
Insulation - insulate your house as well as possible if you haven't done so already. This includes making sure you have a good insulation system in place, especially in wall cavities (if you have them) and your loft, where effective loft insulation can save an average house £250 - £300. Also make sure you have double glazed windows (or even triple-glazed windows if you live in a colder climate) and thick curtains, as all these improve the insulation and energy efficiency of your house. This is turn will save you money on heating bills and also reduce your carbon footprint as the less energy you use, the smaller your carbon footprint is.
Don't use the dryer - use a clothes line outside as this is completely free and natural and also reduces your carbon footprint as tumble dryers use vast amounts of energy.
Don't use your air conditioner - Air conditioners are usually the biggest single consumer of energy in most houses, instead use natural ventilation or a fan to keep cool.
Install solar panels - Solar panels are a great way to get your own renewable energy, and are becoming cheaper and cheaper so it is well worth investing in. A utility bill can drop by 20% with the use of electricity from solar panels, and you can even be paid money for your excess electricity by your grid if you make more energy than you use.
Change your toilet - A low flow toilet saves lots of water each year, helping the environment and saving you money. If you don't want to do this, put a water bottle or similar in the tank of your toilets, as this reduces the amount of water your toilet uses in each flush (It is usually recommended to use bricks for this, but you shouldn't as bricks can disintegrate in the water).
Install underfloor heating - wall radiators are not only ugly and take up room that could be used for something else, they are incredibly inefficient. Underfloor heating tends to be seen as expensive and associated with newbuild homes, but it can be relatively cheap and is easy to install in old homes. Underfloor heating is very efficient in homes as it evenly radiates heat upwards whereas wall radiators emit lots of their heat into the wall and end up heating only a small part of the room near the radiator.
Replace windows - Replace any single-glazed windows to double or even triple glazing as this simple change can save huge amounts of energy and money over time, and are a great investment to make for your home. Choose windows with wooden frames instead of metal or UPVC. This is because wooden framed windows are easier to repair, more insulating, last a lifetime and are much less polluting than UPVC (unplasticised poly vinyl chloride) as these frames emit toxic compounds.
Plant trees - This is an obvious point, but is very important as it can help offset your carbon footprint but also provides an important urban habitat for species in your garden.
Install some good curtains - ditch blinds and buy some good, thick curtains for windows and doors as these are a very important step in making your house more energy-efficient. Curtains are available that keep your house cool in summer and warm in winter, saving you money on heating bills in winter and making your house a nicer place to be in the heat of summer.
Buy good quality furniture from responsible sources, or from recycled materials - many people realise that it is important to consider where you get your furniture from and not just get the cheapest option, but most forget when they are galloping around an IKEA on a Saturday looking for 'bargains' that look tacky and will undoubtedly break within a year. When buying anything made of wood, IKEA is a shop to avoid. IKEA is one of the world's largest wood consuming sources, and this wood is taken from unsustainable sources by a company who couldn't care less about their environmental impact. It's better to buy furniture from a company that sells good quality products that will last a lifetime, and only remodel, refurbish or 'update' your house rarely as some people think it is necessary to get brand new sofas each year, when a good one can last for 10 or 20 years before being reupholstered, repurposed or recycled. Think carefully.
(MOST EFFECTIVE) Make your garden a wildlife haven - gardens, especially in urban areas, are crucial habitats for all sorts of species. Gardens act as safe wildlife corridors for animals to travel through in urban areas and act as vital homes for animals that would otherwise struggle to live in an urban setting. Make sure your garden has something to suit all animals as the more habitats you create within your garden the higher the biodiversity and so the more animals you will see. Have a large flowerbed where you can plant lots of flowers each year, or plant flowers that will spring up year after year or re-seed themselves annually to save hassle. The best flowers that I can recommend are wildflowers native to your area or country. These look great and you can create a 'mini meadow' in your garden that will attract lots of bees, butterflies and other insects that generally tend to prefer native wildflowers to exotic foreign ones. In the UK over 95% of wildflower meadows have been lost in the past 50 years so it is more important than ever for insects to have these flowers available. Always leave a section of your garden to 'go wild.' Don't trim the bushes in this area, just leave it be and you will be amazed at how many species will move in over time. If you have a tree or large bush leave it to grow to create an extra habitat for more species. Also, you should consider creating a bug hotel for insects, the instructions for which you can find online by searching for it. If you don't create a bug hotel (and even if you do) you should definitely purchase a bird feeder. Bird feeders can attract dozens of bird species to your garden that otherwise wouldn't visit your garden, and are essential for local bird populations health and survival in winter when other food sources are not available. Different bird feeders and fillings attract different species so you should have a variety of feeders and foods to attract different birds. I would also recommend keeping a bird bath and making sure it has water all year round as this will also attract more bird species to your garden as well. Finally, i would recommend creating a pond if you have the room as ponds can become some of the most biodiverse habitats within your garden once your pond has been established for a few years, with animals such as frogs, toads, newts and insects such as dragonfly larvae (which will turn into dragonflies) common. However you should be aware that your pond can become a death trap for animals such as hedgehogs where they can fall in and drown so make sure you have grassy borders around the edge of the pond and an area where animals can easily crawl out.