8 Steps To Make Your Home Eco-Friendly.

Making your home more eco-friendly is easier than you might think, follow some easy steps and you can seriously reduce your carbon footprint, save money and reduce waste. Below are some easy steps to follow to having a greener home.

1. Draw up a programme: Think of all the things in your home that use energy, lose energy or cost you money, bear in mind how you ventilate and insulate your property too. So separate out these and think of how you use the gas, electricity and your water too. Each one of these will need to be approached in a different way. It is easy to complete a Home Energy Check, this can be done online and is provided by the Energy Savings Trust, go onto their website and they may be able to help you save over £300 a year.
2. Stop major drafts: Your property needs to be ventilated, this is not the same as a draft. Blocking off ventilation in the home can be bad for the home and also for your health. UPVC windows can block ventilation in the home and that is why mould sometimes builds up. What you want to be aiming for is stopping major drafts such as chimneys. A solution to a drafty chimney is a chimney balloon which will stop warm air being sucked out of your room. The chimney balloon still allows some ventilation and you can find out more online about how they work.
3. Efficiently heat your home: Your boiler is the first thing that you need to concentrate on. If the boiler is more than seven years old then you should consider changing it for a more energy efficient one, a gas condensing one is the best. Also a thermostatic radiator valve also allows you to turn the heat down in rooms that you rarely use. Think about putting in reflector panels behind your radiators and they reflect the heat back into the room rather than letting it go out through the walls. You can check how efficient your boiler is by making a note of the make and model and using the Home Heating Guide’s Boiler Efficiency Rating Table. Grants are also available to some people if you are considering changing your central heating system.
4. Use an energy meter: Many people are using energy meters these days as it tells them exactly what appliances in the home use the most electricity. It is surprising sometimes how much electric they use, especially tumble dryers. Also change your light bulbs to energy saving ones, it is estimated that each energy saving light bulb saves £11, add up each light bulb you have and you could save quite a lot over the year.
5. Use more natural light: Rather than switching on your lights at home try and make the most of the natural light that comes into your home. Make sure that your windows are clean and that you use light colours in your rooms, this can make all the difference. Patio doors bring in so much more natural light too.
6. Use less water: It makes sense to switch off taps when you are not using the water, such as when you are brushing your teeth. Showers also use a lot of water, try and reduce your time in the shower and replace the shower head with a Mira eco one. This shower head aerates the water reducing the amount of water per minute through the head.
7. Get an inter flush unit: This allows you to only release the water for as long as you are holding the handle down. They are a lot more environmentally friendly and can easily be used in an old system.
8. Recycle: Think of what you don’t want or use and think of someone else can benefit from it. Charity shops welcome a lot of things boots sales are popular.
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