How To Save Money In Your Home By Going Eco-Friendly
Being eco-friendly is first and foremost about your carbon impact on the world we live in, but it can also have a great financial effect. Being smart with how you use your gas and electricity, making your home more efficient, and helping out the environment is a great way of lowering your bills and increasing your savings. On this page, you’ll find a number of ways in which you can improve your eco-friendliness and claw back some of the money that leaves your account each month.
When it comes to reducing expenses and embracing eco-friendly practices at home, the importance of timely fuel delivery and monitoring cannot be overstated. By ensuring that fuel deliveries are scheduled efficiently and monitoring consumption patterns closely, homeowners can not only save money but also reduce their environmental footprint. Whether it’s propane for heating systems (from a reliable service found at https://redtriangleoil.com/) or diesel for backup generators, optimizing fuel usage plays a pivotal role in sustainable energy management. By embracing these practices, households can minimize waste, improve energy efficiency, and contribute to a greener future while also enjoying the benefits of lower utility bills.
- Switch to LED lightbulbs
Switching your lightbulbs is a huge saver. In the average household, roughly 25% of your electric bill will be made up of lighting costs. This is a huge figure for the amount of electricity that should really be used. Lighting your home is not a big energy-user. The main reason why this is still the case is that many homes, especially older builds, are still installed with incandescent lighting technology, which is far more inefficient than what we have today.
Just by switching a lightbulb from incandescent to LED, you will use anywhere between 75-90% less electricity instantly. It is not as if this is a huge investment either: LED lightbulbs can be bought for as little as 1 from DIY shops.
2. Increase light and/or heavy insulation
Increasing your insulation levels means that you aren’t wasting as much money heating or cooling your home. It’s important that your home has good temperature retention in order to keep your central heating and air conditioning bills to a minimum. You can also opt for fuel furnaces that run on heating oil to reduce energy loss and electricity costs. Heating oil can be an energy-efficient method for home heating since the fuel can burn more effectively than electricity-powered heaters. In addition, you can look for fuel delivery companies such as Hollenbach Home Comfort Services or similar suppliers in your neighborhood to get propane or heating oil at an affordable price.
Targeting the rooms that you spend the most time in can also be a great way to focus your budget. If you spend a lot of time in your living room, you should perhaps buy some thicker curtains to stop heat from leaving through your windows. Another idea would be to buy a thicker, fluffy rug that will act as a barrier between the heat and its escape route.
Increasing your insulation levels means that you aren’t wasting as much money heating or cooling your home. It’s important that your home has good temperature retention in order to keep your central heating and air conditioning bills to a minimum.
3. Switch your energy tariff
People have been able to switch their energy tariffs for almost 30 years, but a surprising amount of people don’t really know why you’d bother. There are hundreds of energy suppliers operating across the country, all with different pricing structures. The cheapest tariff on the market and the most expensive can have hundreds of pounds worth of difference between them, even as much as 800 per year. Most comparison engines can now switch you over with as little as your name, address, and bank details. Also, thanks to OFGEM regulations, you can also be safe in the knowledge that your switch will take no longer than 21 days to be fully completed. You will also then have a 15-day period in which you are legally allowed to change your mind about your purchase. This is what’s called a ‘cooling off period’.
If your energy tariff has gone up for any reason, it could be a good idea to switch some of your appliances to a fuel-based energy source. While this might not sound like an environmentally conscious decision, you can still maintain some of your appliances using electricity or gas, but opt for a clean fuel like propane (which you can have delivered through services found at https://www.wendtspropaneandoil.com/) for other home processes. This can allow you to maintain a relatively low carbon footprint while also allowing you to make a choice that is more affordable for you.
So, how does this make your home more eco-friendly? Well many suppliers are now providing 100% renewable energy tariffs, which directly remove your usage from the fossil fuel demand. By doing this you are increasing the funding and support for renewables, all whilst saving yourself hundreds of pounds per year.
- Switch to a water-saving shower head
Taking showers is the third biggest water user within the family household, just behind toilets and washing machines. Nobody’s perfect; some of us like taking longer showers, but little do we know just how much those extra few minutes are costing in both electricity and water. The average shower in the UK lasts around 8.2 minutes and uses 65 liters. That’s 8 liters per minute!
Getting a shower head that complied with the ‘Water Sense’ rating will make sure that your shower head uses no more than 2 gallons per minute, which, although still high, is a damn site better than the majority of average shower heads. Making this switch could save you tonnes of money in electricity and water over the year.
Use Eco-Friendly Products
The amount of plastic that a household can consume in just one short month can be astronomical. Try switching up your weekly shop with plastic-free alternatives to the products that you use the most. Usually, you can do this by trying out permanent solutions for products that you’d ordinarily have to consume a lot of like tampons and razors. For example, Get Shave Advice recommends that you switch up your ordinary disposable razors and opt for a straight razor or a safety razor. Similarly, you can eliminate plastic waste by opting for eco-friendly alternatives to everyday items like toothbrushes, mugs, and yes, even doormats.
When it comes to toothbrushes, bamboo toothbrushes are an excellent plastic-free option that is biodegradable and sustainable. Additionally, swapping out plastic mugs for reusable stainless steel or glass ones can significantly reduce your household’s plastic footprint. As for doormats, choosing natural materials such as coir, jute, or lobster rope (by the way, lobster rope doormats are quick drying) can help minimize plastic usage while adding a touch of eco-friendliness to your home’s entrance.
By consciously selecting plastic-free alternatives for your everyday essentials, you not only contribute to reducing plastic pollution but also embrace a more sustainable and environmentally friendly lifestyle. These small changes may seem insignificant on an individual level but can collectively make a significant impact in reducing plastic waste and preserving our planet for future generations.
Making little changes like these doesn’t have to make a massive impact on your life, but they’re better for the planet and better for your wallet! If we’re all a little more conscious of what we’re consuming it can benefit everyone for the better and help to preserve our planet and its wonderful resources for our children and our children’s children!