Our everyday household habits can affect the environment. In honor of Earth Day, we’re offering up easy eco-friendly tips to green your everyday home routine. Learn how environmentally friendly adjustments can save on household costs and positively impact our ecosystem.
1. Encourage Energy-Efficiency
Save on utility bills by reducing electricity and water use and using energy-efficient labeled appliances. According to a Post Crescent article, the Natural Resources Defense Council found installing energy-efficient appliances has been estimated to save a household around $500 a year. That number could climb to $840 by 2030.
Live energy efficient by letting sunshine warm your home during daylight hours while illuminating room space. For evening illumination, keep lights on a dimmer switch, lighted with LED bulbs and turn off when lighting is no longer needed. To improve energy efficiency while retaining indoor heat, consider spectrally selective low-E glass windows for balanced seasonal comfort. HGTV offers energy-efficient recommendations when selecting mixed climate windows to prevent heat loss, block drafty breezes and improve the overall thermal comfort of a home.
2. Green Indoor Space
Using houseplants as an indoor decor element not only livens up room space, but can improve the overall indoor air quality of a home. The International Association of Home Inspectors reports the home healthy benefits of indoor houseplants. Not only do they remove environmental airborne toxins, houseplants can reduce stress, increase work performance and improve health. Vertical green walls and gardens are a growing trend in home decor. Consider ornamental plants to green wall space in place of paintings and wall hangings, and in the kitchen, a vertical herb or vegetable garden for fresh-picked home grown ingredients for meals. Home grow systems are rising in popularity. They utilize kitchen wall space for vertical gardens and adaptive surfaces with intelligence sensors to help with meal preparation. The GE Appliances Garden Kitchen Concept unveiled at CES 2020 feeds gray water to vertical gardens and includes a compost area to recycle decomposed fruit and vegetable scraps into vacuum-sealed, nutrient-rich packets to feed soil.
3. Eliminate Harmful Household Chemicals
Harsh chemicals in household cleaning products can include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that not only irritate the eyes, nose and throat and cause headaches, but also adversely affect the environment. The EPA reports cleaning products are released to the environment during normal use through evaporation of volatile components and through rinsing down the drain. There are safer solutions available for daily household cleaning and removing persistent spots and stains. Women for a Healthy Environment offers tips on harmful cleaning ingredients to avoid along with easy DIY disinfectant cleaning recipes to try at home.
4. Create Sustainable Living Space
Sustainability is impacting the way many people are purchasing items to furnish their homes. The desire to purchase certified sustainable and environmentally friendly construction materials and furniture pieces is growing among homeowners looking for interior design solutions with low impact on individual health and the environment. Environmentally friendly accents and building materials are easy to incorporate into a custom home. Consider using reclaimed wood and bamboo flooring, look for water-saving faucets and showerheads for indoor water efficiency and elevated water containment rain barrels for watering plants and vegetables growing in an outdoor garden.
With improved indoor air quality, energy-efficient insulation and sources of abundant natural light, new home construction provides cleaner and safer environments for health. Construction materials, building methods and HVAC system technologies are making homes more energy-efficient and lowering utility bills. During the new construction planning process we can offer insight on eco-friendly building materials, energy-efficient appliances and green design improvements to lower your carbon footprint and improve everyday home routines.
Signature Homes by J.T. Maloney offers buildable plans for construction customized to your design needs. From deciding the perfect lot, right down to selecting the front door, your dream is our mission. Contact us today, to learn more about the Signature Homes by J.T. Maloney construction process and homes for sale.
