You may be surprised to learn that small changes can make a significant difference when transforming your house into an eco-friendly home. Here are a few tips to get you started:
1. Switch to LED Bulbs
If you haven’t already, it’s time to start swapping out those old incandescent bulbs with their LED counterparts to start living eco friendly lifestyles. Apart from saving energy, these new-fangled LED bulbs are much more durable. Natural lighting is also an excellent way to boost the value of your property by reducing the use of electricity and improving the ambience of the house. If you have skylights, your home will require power only a few hours during the night.
2. Upgrade Your Windows
If the windows of your home are old and worn-out, you should think about replacing them. Old windows allow excessive heat from the sun into the house, causing fans and air conditioning systems to work overtime in the summer. Conversely, they also allow the warm internal air to slip out of the house during winter, leading to higher energy costs. It therefore goes without saying that if you have single-glazed windows, it’s time to swap them out with double-glazed models… it could even boost your house price by up to 5%.
3. Add Green Plants
Indoor plants play a crucial role in purifying and oxygenating internal air, keeping it fresh and cool. Therefore, you should look for low-maintenance indoor plants to add to your space. Not only do they have health benefits, but they look quite good too!
4. Install Solar Panels
Solar panels are a significant investment if you purchase them outright, but they almost certainly will improve the value of your property and help boost its EPC rating. Apart from being a renewable source of energy, solar panels will cut down your energy costs significantly and may even allow you to feed energy back into the national grid, making you some extra money on the side. Recent advancements in solar panel technology also mean that you can now install panels which look just like roof tiles, a bonus for those of us who aren’t too keen on their aesthetics.
5. Replace Exterior Doors
Replacing existing doors is a relatively cheap and viable option that will improve the efficiency and value of your home. Consider getting new doors with multi-paned glass that fit tightly to the frame.
6. Incorporate Smart Appliances
Switching out your old appliances for smarter, energy-efficient choices can lead to huge savings in energy bills. For instance, if you introduce smart lighting, you can minimise energy wastage by ensuring the lights are on only when they are in use. Adding motion sensors and smart switches allows you to control lighting remotely, which means you can reduce your energy costs. Managing your heating system remotely also comes in handy when you’re on holiday and suddenly realise that you’ve left your central heating on!
Founder Dinis Guarda
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