Here’s the truth: making your home more sustainable isn’t just helping the environment — it’s also helping you! You can make efficient use of both new and around-the-house resources to minimize your bills and your impact on the environment. The good news is that creating environmental sustainability in your house is much easier than you think, and it also helps maintain the value of your property. Here are a few tips on how to save money, save waste, and save the earth.
Low-Flow In Your Kitchen and Bathrooms
When you install low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators, there’s less water to heat, which means you’re saving water, energy, and money. Most even have on and off controls that allow you to cut the water off while getting soapy and clean. Another thing to consider is installing low-flush toilets. Instead of utilizing six gallons per flush, you’ll only be using one and a half. While you’re already sprucing things up in your kitchen and bathrooms, be sure to fix any leaky pipes. Even tiny leaks can waste thousands of gallons of water a year and are easily repaired by replacing old parts.
Get Savvy In The Garden
Everyone likes gorgeous greenery and a beautiful garden, right? When you’re wanting to shut some of that heat out during those sweltering summer months, plant deciduous shade trees and vines to keep cool and cut cooling bills. If you put them on the west and east sides of the house, you’ll let more light in. Since you’re already outside planting away, consider buying or building water tanks to collect rainwater and start rainwater harvesting. You can use what you collect to water plants and reduce the amount of groundwater in use and stop pipe water wastage.
Don’t Forget The Doors and Windows
Not a garden person but still want to retain the heat during the winter and keep it out during the summer? Install double-glazed windows help to insulate the house during the summer and keep warm during the winter. If you’re working with what you’ve got, inspect your windows and ductwork by feeling for any air leakage at duct joints. If you find any, use duct tape to seal them to reduce heating costs up to 10%. Another easy way to protect heat or cool air from coming in and out of your windows and doors is with weather stripping (for movable parts) and caulk (for non-moving parts).
Light Your Living Room Right
Time to cut those utility bills! Light your living room — or every room — with compact fluorescents, which last longer and use up to 75 percent less energy than your standard light bulb. These nifty lights also screw into your average incandescent lightbulb sockets! Another option is LED lighting fixtures, which are perfect for outdoor lighting like spotlights, floodlights, and security lights. They use up less energy, as well. For even less energy usage, install motion-sensing switches that turn your lights off when the room’s empty and flip back on when you walk in. Not only is it efficient, but it feels a little luxurious, too.
Start Anew With Amazing & Energy-Saving Appliances
When you swap your old electrical appliances with new, energy-saving certified ones, your house becomes instantly sustainable. These efficient appliances have smarter designs. For example, front-loading washers use half the water and detergent of top-loading washers. When you check efficiency ratings on your fridges, washers, dryers, and more, you could save up to 13 percent of your household energy use.
Ready to move in?
Contact Nina Kurtz today if you’re interested in finding your dream Westlake Village, Malibu, Calabasas, or Topanga luxury home or real estate. As one of the most sought-after Malibu and Topanga Canyon realtors, Nina serves a wide range of communities. In the meantime, read more on our blog here.
