Being eco-friendly is about more than any one single task. Instead, it encompasses many different conscious efforts to reduce your carbon footprint, reduce waste, and make environmentally friendly decisions on a daily basis. Some of these choices are easier to make while others take a concerted effort and proper planning to implement. So, what are a few different eco-friendly energy saving solutions that you can implement to make a very real impact today?
- Make the Switch to Renewable Energy
- Utilize a Smart Thermostat
- Adjust Energy Usage Depending on the Time of Year
- Utilize Green Building Materials
- Ensure Buildings Are Properly Insulated
- Seek Out Energy Star Appliances
Make the Switch to Renewable Energy
Electricity use accounts for the majority of your energy usage whether this is to cook, keep your lights on, or heat your home. To reduce your energy usage and instead allow nature to provide this electricity for you, consider making the switch to renewable energy such as solar. If you do not have access to solar because of living in an apartment or other extenuating circumstances, utility companies often allow you to select where your electricity is sourced. By selecting a renewable energy source, you are now getting power from a renewable resource which has no adverse effects on the environment.
Utilize a Smart Thermostat
Why would you pay to heat or cool your home if no one is there? This is often the case when you leave your thermostat set at a static temperature throughout the day to ensure it is comfortable when you come home from work. To address this, consider using a smart thermostat. These devices can automatically raise or lower the temperature in your home while you are away to help reduce energy usage. Then, just before returning home from work, it can raise or lower the temperature back to a more comfortable level.
Adjust Energy Usage Depending on the Time of Year
Simply lowering or raising your thermostat depending on the time of year can be a huge energy saver. It is recommended to have settings of 68 degrees in the winter and 78 degrees in the summer. This is because being comfortable is more about temperature differential between the inside and outside than it is about any single temperature setting. This can allow your energy usage to drop drastically regardless of the time of year.
Utilize Green Building Materials
An often-overlooked part of the total energy output of any building are the materials used to construct it. Often, basic building blocks such as concrete and plastics require massive amounts of energy to create. This leads to buildings having a higher carbon footprint long before they are even occupied. To help reduce their total environmental footprint, consider utilizing green building materials. These materials often use recycled materials to create an equal, if not better, quality product without the negative environmental impacts.
Ensure Buildings Are Properly Insulated
One of the fastest ways to overuse heating and cooling systems is by operating them in a building that isn’t properly insulated. This is because warm air will always naturally try to migrate to an area of cooler air. So, in the summer, warm air will try to get in your home while in the winter, warm air will try to escape from your home. To combat this, properly insulating your home can do the trick. Luckily, companies like Knauf Insulation have a wide variety of products which can better insulate your home and reduce any unnecessary run time of your heating and cooling systems, thus saving energy throughout the year.
Seek Out Energy Star Appliances
Appliances in your home or in a business can be one of the largest energy consumers. To help lower your overall energy consumption, seek out Energy Star appliances when they need to be replaced. Appliances with this designation have passed rigorous testing to ensure that they are highly energy-efficient and can perform the same task as your old appliance while using much less energy, leading to huge energy savings and lower energy bills.
One of the great things about taking on eco-friendly energy saving strategies is that they always pay for themselves in the form of lower energy bills. By implementing one or many of these energy saving techniques, you are well on your way to a more energy-efficient lifestyle.
