Carbon footprints have begun to linger over our lifestyles and there are few decisions that we can make without also considering the environment. This is especially true when it comes to our homes, which play an important and potentially significant role in how eco-friendly our lifestyles are.
Depending on the design and usage of our living spaces, a home can not only help us to become more carbon friendly but can even offset a carbon footprint entirely. While this might require residents to change a few of their lifestyle habits and adapt accordingly, there are some simple investments that will help to effortlessly make a home beneficial to the environment. Today, we’re sharing four of the best and most popular ways to reduce your carbon footprint at home.
Swapping Stoves For Radiators
For a number of years, residents have had an affection for wood-burning stoves. Not only can they effectively heat a room but they have an undeniable aesthetic appeal, especially when burning away on a cold day.
However, the carbon and smoke that wood-burning stoves produced are neither good for personal health nor the environment. Instead, radiators and heating systems powered by sustainable means, such as electricity, are preferred. They are not only more affordable but, with the right design, can heat an entire home more effectively, even underneath floors.
Cleaner Energy
The addition of solar panels to a home is, in modern property design, often a no-brainer. Residents are able to save on their energy consumption and even earn small amounts of income from the surplus energy their panels produce, all passively.
Once the initial investment has been made and solar panels are set up, energy bills will drop in cost and homeowners will dramatically reduce their carbon footprint. Solar panels no longer need to consume rooftops either and more compact designs can be added to garden sheds and log cabins to produce energy for vehicles and bicycles.
Smart Systems
Leaving lights on, forgetting to turn a boiler off, and leaving devices plugged in are each common ways that homeowners end up using more power than they mean to. With smart home systems, however, these issues become a thing of the past and homeowners can make sure that their home only uses power when it is needed.
Contemporary heating systems, for example, can be controlled from a mobile phone and even active when a resident is detected to be home, meaning that, should all residents be out, the property will save money by keeping its boiler and radiators cool.
Food Waste Prevention
One of the most substantial ways that a home produces carbon is through food waste. The hidden cost of transportation, water, and storage all add up to make even a small amount of mouldy fruit a significant cost should it be added to the bin.
However, if a home establishes a simple compost system, it can prevent this energy from going to waste, while also producing nutrient-rich soil for use in the garden.
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