Quick tips for making your first home eco friendly

Quick tips for making your first home eco friendly

 

Moving into your first home is an exciting time – and often (especially during those first few months) budget can be a bit of an issue! Usually, with a new home, lots of things need doing, fixing and adjusting – so there may not necessarily be room in the budget for big eco friendly adjustments such as solar panels.

So, with first-time buyers and new home movers in mind we’ve put together some fantastic tips and tricks for saving energy and becoming more eco friendly on a budget. These little tips and trick can be done cheaply – but can also make a huge difference to household bills and energy friendly ratings.

So here we go….

 

1. Insulate your attic with recycled materials

It’s amazing how much heat can be lost through poorly insulated walls and attics – so make sure you’re has been insulted properly to save yourself energy in the heating department. You don’t need to hire a professional to insulate, it can be done over an afternoon by yourself – using old recycled materials you may already have around the house too. For a step by step guide on how to do it, take a read of this Wiki How article where there are suggestions of materials to use and lookout for too.

 

2. Change your light bulbs

We all know that a eco friendly light bulb is better than the alternative – not only does it last longer (saving you money) but it uses up less energy too. However, if you really want to do it like a pro, instead of just picking up any eco friendly bulb next time you’re in the supermarket – take a look at more specialist retailer online – where you can compare and contrast the bulbs, and where about in the house they’re going to work best, this is how you’re going to save the most money and energy possible.

 

 3. Have a window garden for herbs and spices

Not only to window gardens and balcony gardens look cute and adorable – they can save huge amounts of plastic and waste. Stop buying herbs and spices every week from the shops – and grow your own where possible!

 

 4. Buy second hand and reuse furniture

It’s not always necessary to buy furniture new from shops like Ikea. Instead head up to your local charity shop and see if you can re-use or repurpose anything they have in there instead. Whilst researching this article I found a great Pinterest board, dedicated to inspiring creative repurposing – so take a look there for inspiration!

 

5. Add thick curtains, instead of blinds

Blinds look great and are very fashionable, but they don’t keep the heat in a house very well – so it may be worth investing in some thick curtains during the winter months. They will be worth the investment – as they’ll save you a lot of money of electricity and heating bills whilst you have them up. They can actually work to keep rooms cool too in the summer – so you can avoid those big air con bills!

 

 6. Buy an eco-kettle

For many families – the kettle is used more than anything else in the house (not surprising really, is it!) so if you’re like me, and you use your kettle a lot too, maybe an investment in an eco friendly kettle would be a good move. There are many affordable eco-friendly on the high street, a quick Google search will show you.

 

 7. Dry your clothes outdoors or on radiators

Ditch that tumble dryer right now – as it’s going to be making your energy bills huge! In the winter, dry your clothes on a clothes dryer, hung next to a radiator. In the summertime, install yourself a washing line and hand your clothes out to dry outside. You’ll find it’s actually a really quick way of drying things, especially on a sunny day!

 

Quick tips for making your first home eco friendly

Are You Losing 50 Percent of Your Heat?

Windows are Responsible for Almost 50 Percent of Heat Loss in a Home

 

Becoming energy-efficient is a goal that is shared across the world. As more people, businesses and governments become of aware of ways to save energy, the need to produce more energy lessens.

 

Governments dedicate money, time and people to creating committees and organizations that will work towards finding ways to save energy as well as lower the costs of the energy that is being created. As government bodies work towards saving energy, they are committed to educating people on doing their part to conserve. It is not only good for the planet, it is good for the consumer’s wallet.

 

Energy-efficient appliances and window treatments work to reduce the costs of running a household. According to the Department of Energy in the United States, 13 percent of the overall cost to run a household is spent on appliances. Over the years, the department has worked to establish a grading system that allows manufacturers to add an ENERGY STAR blue label to those appliances that are energy efficient.

 

Australia has begun to implement their Smart Grid technology that allows them to collect data about usage, distribution, storage and suppliers of energy. This technology will better help the government plan for future needs based on historical data. This type of planning is proactive and is designed to best make use of resources available for the future growth and expansion of areas. This type of knowledge is helpful when creating or rebuilding a power grid for a community. The data will show where the most consumption is and how best to compensate for the usage.

 

Manufactures of autos have been working towards making their vehicles more fuel-efficient. There are strict guidelines that governments put into place to lower the emissions on vehicles.

 

Companies who build windows are designing windows with double glazing to reduce noise and create a protective barrier from cold and heat. When using double glazing, the window is best suited for energy-efficiency. The window is double-paned with argon gas inserted between panes. This sets up the best thermal boundary for the home. One pane will be a low-E pane, which means that low levels of heat will be emitted through the pane. The pane can be coated with a solar control to keep the heat out of the home in the summer.

 

Homes lose almost 50 percent of their heat through the windows, and they allow for 87 percent of the heat to come inside the home. Since every climate is different, the homeowner must decide whether they need more or less heat within the home at any given time of the year. Windows are created with different levels of glazing, and homeowners should know what level they need to make their home the most energy-efficient.

 

In order to make the entire home energy efficient, some companies like Truglaze from Australia use window seals of NASA grade rubber. These seals further prevent leakage around the window frames.

 

Since homes lose a large percent of their heat through windows, homeowner should see a savings on their energy bill after installing energy-efficient windows.

Are You Losing 50 Percent of Your Heat?

Test Post from http://realworldenergy.com

Test Post from http://realworldenergy.com http://realworldenergy.com