Sustainability is becoming popular these days. People are changing their lifestyle and adopting new habits to cut down their carbon footprint. If you want to inculcate sustainability in your lifestyle but are confused about how you should start then this article can guide you. If you want to go green, you should better start at home. Changing your ordinary home into a green home can be very easy if you do the following things.
Use energy efficient light bulbs
Light bulbs consume a large share of the total electricity your house uses. Using energy efficient CFLs or the newly arrived LED light bulbs can save a lot of power. LEDs are more eco friendly compared to CFLs.
Use cold water
You may think that hot water makes it easy to remove stains from clothes but it is not really so. Cold water can do the job almost equally well. A little hard work on your part can save a lot power which gets consumed in heating the water.
Get rid of old electronic appliances
We are proud of our old appliances which last a decade. We continue to use them as long as possible to save money. But we don’t realize that these appliances consume a lot more power than the new power saver appliances available today. So change your old appliances for new ones with energy star logo on them as soon as possible. With the help of logo you can easily find out how efficiently the appliance can save power. The more are the number of stars, the more power it can save.
Avoid paper, plant trees
Use less paper in your house and office. Going digital will not only help you become tech friendly and fast but also reduce pollution by reducing deforestation. You can also consider planting trees in your society and around your house. It will help in reducing pollution and bringing down temperature during hot sunny days thereby helping you use less power for fans and coolers.
Eco friendly paint
Many wall paints are made of toxic metals and volatile compounds which not only pollute the environment but can also lead to health hazards. They can be harmful for small kids and can easily catch fire. These days many paint manufacturers are switching to eco friendly paints which contain less amount of toxic substances. Choose your wall paints wisely.
Gardening
If you like gardening then you should take care of a few things. By little care you can earn green points for this activity also. Always use natural fertilizers for your garden. Chemical fertilizers may seem more effective but they are toxic and cause pollution. Also they reduce the fertility of the soil in the long run. Use biodegradable pots in your garden. Make sure to turn off the tap after you have watered the plants, do not waste water.
Save water
Consume less water if you want to make your house greener. A lot of power is used to purify and send water to your house. It adds to carbon emission in the atmosphere which is the cause of greenhouse effect and global warming. You can also make rain water harvesting facility on top of your house which will help you in saving power. Rain water needs less purification measures. During rainy season only filtering the water is enough to make it potable.
Install solar panel
Power of the sun is the cleanest and most sustainable power on earth but most of it is not harnessed by us. By using solar panels we can use it to power our house. We can light bulbs and heat water. It will reduce your power bills drastically. Initial cost will be high due to high cost of equipments and installation but the cost savings on electricity bills you can get later will be much higher. The equipments are fragile so you need to be careful in their installation and placement.
Compost pit and bio gas plant
Most of the household waste can be recycled easily. You can also do it at home by using a compost pit. Just dump the waste products in your compost pit and after a few months you can get good fertilizer for your garden. Also you can use it in the form of bio gas plant. The gas generated from the decomposing waste can be used to cook food in your kitchen and heat water in your bathroom.
Avoid packaged water
Many people have the habit of drinking bottled water only even if potable water is available at home. They believe that this habit is healthy but it adds to the carbon emission in the atmosphere. Bottled water generally comes in plastic bottles which are toxic to the environment. They create a lot of pollution when manufactured and are tough to recycle. If not recycled, they make the land infertile. So it is better to purify your water at home and carry along with you instead of purchasing packaged drinking water. Use stainless steel bottles as they can last very long and can be used again and again.
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