Easy-to-follow Tips for Having a Sustainable Home

Table of Contents

1. Guide Tips for Sustainable Home Easy #1: What does a sustainable home mean?
2. Guide Tips for Sustainable Home Easy #2: Upcycling furniture
3. Guide Tips for Sustainable Home Easy #3: Purchase energy-saving appliances
4. Guide Tips for Sustainable Home Easy #4: Talk to sustainability experts
5. Guide Tips for Sustainable Home Easy #4: Get high-performance windows installed
6. Guide Tips for Sustainable Home Easy #5: Install a cool roof
7. Guide Tips for Sustainable Home Easy #6: Take the passive solar design into consideration
8. Guide Tips for Sustainable Home Easy #7: Install a water filter that removes microplastics
9. Guide Tips for Sustainable Home Easy #8: Get a drip irrigation system installed
10. Guide Tips for Sustainable Home Easy #9: Be smarter in the kitchen

Are you planning to have a sustainable home but wondering about how to do so? If yes, then your search ends here. In this article, we have included a list of easy-to-follow tips for having a sustainable home. When you are planning to have a sustainable home, you are making a great contribution towards improving the environment. But in reality, that is not all!

Making your home more sustainable than before can help you cut back on the cost of running your home, saving water, energy, and maintenance on appliances and systems. Even more than all this, you create an eco-friendly and healthier environment for yourself, your family, and your pets.

So, let’s start and dive into the list of ways on how you can have a sustainable home but before that let’s understand what does sustainable home means!

What does a sustainable home mean?

The term sustainable home is a combination of two words i.e., “sustainable” and “home”. “Sustainable” here means the use of natural energy or products in such a way that does not harm the environment and the term “home” simply means the place where you live. 

Therefore, a sustainable house is an efficient house that is entirely retrofitted or built in a manner that optimizes energy, respects the resources, and will last longer with quality systems.

Sustainable homes use high-performance and low-impact materials. The materials used in such homes are highly efficient in terms of manufacturing, shipping, and installing. In addition to this, because high-quality systems and materials break less and last for a longer period of time, they waste less.

So, in order to make your home sustainable, you should take into consideration each and every detail that involves:

• Building methods and materials

• Insulation

• Windows

• Lighting

• Air conditioning, heat, and ventilation

• Plumbing fixtures

• Appliances

• Energy generation for wind and solar

As you have got to know the meaning of a sustainable home above, let’s now move to the upcoming section of this article that involves a list of easy-to-follow tips for having a sustainable home.

Also Read: Mutation of Property

9 Tips for Having a Sustainable Home

Here’s a list of 9 easy to follow tips for having a sustainable home:

1. Upcycling furniture

Furniture can be pretty expensive and difficult to dispose of. Whether it is because of redecoration or a house move, you can easily find some good condition second-hand furniture at the online and offline marketplace. In case you are feeling creative then upcycling is an amazing way to add life to the old furniture that would otherwise be disposed of. By doing so, you can cut down the cost of buying furniture for your house and it will indirectly result in helping you have a sustainable house. 

2. Purchase energy-saving appliances

An obvious but one of the most crucial tips for having a sustainable house is to invest in energy-saving appliances. The electrical appliances that you use in your house are the real energy consumers. While investing in electrical appliances, think of them as bearing two prices i.e., the cost of buying and the cost of operating.

So, when you invest in energy-saving appliances you indirectly cut down the second cost. And when the operating cost starts decreasing, you can believe that you are moving towards having a sustainable home. 

3. Talk to sustainability experts

In today’s modern world, sustainability is that area that involves fast innovation. May it be home systems, lighting, and appliances, or home building, sustainability is innovating at a fast pace. So, to have a sustainable home, our advice to you is to get in touch with sustainability experts.

Sustainability experts can perform an excellent energy audit at your place to give you instructions and advice on the latest energy-saving technology and easy fixes. By doing so, you can make alterations in your house as per the guidance of sustainability experts, and then you can have a sustainable home to live in.

4. Get high-performance windows installed

Another useful tip that can help you have a sustainable home is by getting high-performance windows installed. The windows that people generally get installed in their home account for 50% or more of energy lost. The latest technologies in the segment of high-performance windows involve special coating, double glazing, non-conductive framing material, and top-notch sir-tight construction.

Replacing the normal windows with high-performance windows will result in better energy efficiency, quieter living spaces, and less fading of your belongings. For colder climates, opt for the frames that are well-insulated and bear the right U-Value. Also, make sure to look for a tight fit to prevent drafts. For a warmer climate, search for what is called low solar gain. Double glazing and reflective technologies are very useful for this purpose.

5. Install a cool roof

Installing a cool roof is another vital tip for having a sustainable home. A cool roof is one that reflects the heat of the sun rather than absorbing it into your house. In other words, we can say that the cool roofs are specifically designed to reflect the sunlight while absorbing less heat. In comparison to traditional roofs, cool roofs have a high solar reflectance. Due to the higher ability to reflect the rays of the sun, the cool roofs reflect more sunlight than traditional roofs. This will have a tremendous effect on your cooling bill thus helping you save energy and have a sustainable home.

6. Take the passive solar design into consideration

Taking passive solar design into consideration is another important tip for helping you build a sustainable home. The passive solar design utilizes the energy from sunlight to help in cooling and heating the living areas. The passive solar design completely relies on building materials that transmit, reflect, or absorb the radiations of the sun.

With such a design, the inside spaces are perfectly designed to facilitate the free movement of sun-heater air without even using fans. This entire plan will ultimately reduce the amount of energy used for cooling or heating your house.

7. Install a water filter that removes microplastics

Getting a water filter installed that removes microplastics will ensure that you are not adding microplastic to the environment. You can get the filter installed on your washing machine or the tap so that the water coming into your house keeps microplastics out of the drinking water. In such a way you can easily pave the way towards having a sustainable home.

8. Get a drip irrigation system installed

Keeping your backyard green and healthy is not just about looks. Vegetation can contribute to cleaner air, keep your house cooler and serve as a windbreak. In case you want to keep your backyard watered, you might choose the wrong methods that can cancel the benefit quickly. But we won’t allow you to make a wrong decision as we suggest you opt for drip irrigation. Drip irrigation systems use gravity to transfer water to plants and focus directly on the roots where water is needed.

By following this tip, you will not only save electricity by getting rid of pumps but also cut down waste through evaporation.

9. Be smarter in the kitchen 

Last but not least, the final tip that can help you have a sustainable home is to be smarter in the kitchen. Yes, you read that right. There are multiple tasks in the kitchen that can be done in a plethora of ways.

For example, if we talk about toast, many people use the oven to make toast but the same toast can be made with the help of a toaster and it will moreover consume less energy than the oven. This implies that it is not always efficient to use the oven for every task that can be done alternatively. By being smart in the kitchen you can save a large amount of energy. Also, make sure to minimize food waste as well as it will also lead to having an eco-friendly house.

Also Read: Small Modular Kitchen

This was all about how you can make your home sustainable. No matter whether you opt for upcycling furniture or being smarter in the kitchen, each tip listed above has its own significance. So, in a nutshell, with some thoughtful investments and quick changes, you can easily have a sustainable home. And trust us, home sustainability will surely pay you back in the form of comfort as well as energy saving.