Living sustainably is a growing consideration for American homeowners. It measures the ability to do more with less, all while contributing toward the preservation of a shared ecosystem. To that end, homeowners rightfully seek ways to improve their standard of living in a way that carries little to no harmful impact on the environment around them.
And therein lies the goal of this list. Below are five great ways to make your home more sustainable. By the end, you should have some ideas for how to upgrade your own home in a way that minimizes its carbon footprint.
1. Install a Heat Pump AC System
One of the global upgrades you can make for your home is switching to a heat pump AC system. These systems are far more energy-efficient than traditional heating and cooling methods. Where traditional systems generate heat by burning fuel, a heat pump transfers heat from one place to another. It's all about hot and cold air displacement.
In cold times of the year, it can be used to circulate warm air from outside into your home. In hotter periods, it can do the opposite by funneling warmth from inside a house to the outdoors. This entire process uses significantly less energy, reducing emissions from fuel consumption and lowering your energy bills.
2. Invest in Solar Power
Solar energy is one of the cleanest and most abundant renewable energy sources available today. Adding solar panels to your home allows you to harness the power of the sun to meet your energy needs. Depending on where you live, you may be able to cover a significant portion of your household's electricity use, if not all of it, through solar power alone.
If you're ready to make this change, be sure to pay attention to any local programs available to you. Many governments and local utilities offer incentives to offset the upfront cost of installation. Over time, and as energy prices rise, your investment in solar panels can pay off, giving you energy independence and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
Additionally, there's the added benefit that solar energy users are often eligible for federal tax credits, which can further save money if you choose to invest in solar energy.
3. Opt for Energy-Efficient Windows
Windows are often the biggest perpetrators of cool air loss in warm climates. In cooler seasons, they can also leak warm air outside. In both cases, they play a crucial role in your home's overall energy efficiency. Houses with excessively aged windows will find these issues most often.
If your home is older, you ought to consider swapping those windows for energy-conservative options that can control hot and cool air loss. Consider using triple-pane options with low-emissivity (Low-E) coatings. These types of windows are energy-efficient and help maintain interior temperatures, cutting down on the need for heating and cooling.
4. Improve Your Home's Insulation
Insulation is a tricky thing because it's not always readily apparent if it's the cause of temperature irregularities in your home. And that's mainly because it's not visible. When it's out of sight, it's out of mind. People tend to forget about its contribution to your home's temperature control.
Your attic is likely the area of your home that leaks the most air, so sure, there's an adequate amount of insulation up there. By the same token, if you live in a cape-cod-style home or a home with several attic wings or "capes," make sure those are sufficiently insulated. Oftentimes, with older homes, the builders may have neglected to apply insulation to the rafters. This is never a good thing because it allows pockets of cool or hot air to sit in the capes, which can leak into your house.
Even if you don't have a complex attic space like this, it's often a good idea to add extra layers of insulation to your rafters to prevent that much more hot or cool air from making its way into your attic. If the attic is not used for living space, you could choose to insulate the attic floor rather than the rafters to keep the living areas warm.
5. Upgrade to Energy-Efficient Lighting
It's one thing to build good habits around turning off lights when you're done using them, but it's another thing to use the right kinds of lights in your home. LEDs are 75% more efficient than incandescent bulbs, are less fragile, and have much more longevity. You should avoid using fluorescent tube lighting anywhere in the home, garage, or even sheds. While fluorescent lights might be more efficient than incandescent lighting, they can emit neurotoxins if they ever break.
Your best bet is to invest in LED lights wherever you can. It may be a bit more expensive upfront, but it will last longer than incandescent or fluorescent lights. They should also save you a ton on energy bills.
Ready to Future-Proof Your Home?
Investing in your home's energy conservation might be a bit costly upfront, but it can lead to immense savings down the line. On top of that, you can minimize the amount of strain your home's energy consumption places on your environment.
The best part is that these things aren't going away anytime soon. Solar energy solutions will only become more accessible in time, and LED lighting solutions will only become more accessible and affordable.
Choosing any of these methods will make your home more energy-conservative. Which will you start with?
