A lot of people look at sustainability as a matter of conscience, awareness and environmental-friendliness, when it is as much of a budget issue as anything else. You see, lowering your home’s carbon footprint also reduces your utility bill, which means that, in the long-run, it is always an investment that eventually pays off. The same goes for both electricity and water consumption in your home. With this in mind and without further ado, here are several tips that can help make your household more sustainable.
1. Change your habits
Every true change comes from within and no matter how cliché this statement may sound, it’s absolutely true. Switching from regular to low-power appliances can save you about 40 to 70 percent of the energy used, yet, turning off your appliance when you’re not using it saves 100 percent with 0 investment on your side (other than effort). On the other hand, if you aren’t budget- and energy-friendly, no amount of upgrade will give you the results you’re hoping for.
2. Replace your bulbs and appliances
Now, we should elaborate on something we’ve already discussed in the previous section –low-power appliances. While this is a hefty investment, you need to understand that it saves you quite a bit of money in the long run. Still, those who can’t find enough room in their budget for such an investment might want to start by replacing all their bulbs with LED ones. Apart from lasting significantly longer (incandescent bulbs last between 1,000 and 5,000 hours and LED one lasts between 25,000 and 50,000 hours), they also consume less power to create the same amount of light.
3. Make sure your home is up to date
Old appliances spend more power than new ones, even if the new ones aren’t low-power. Apart from this, a faulty electrical grid is not only a safety hazard, but also a massive increase in your overall energy consumption. To avoid this becoming a problem, you need to have a local electrician on a speed dial and ring them up as soon as you notice something off. You need someone who can be there in a matter of minutes, so, for instance, if you’re located in the north-west of Sydney, you should look for an electrician from Castle Hill instead of expanding your search to the entirety of Sydney.
Moreover, unless your home is properly insulated, it will spend disproportionally more energy in every single aspect. Still, when it comes to insulation, you need to pay a lot of attention to all of it: walls, attic, windows and entry doors. A single weak-point is more than enough to cause a serious deficit.
4. Wi-Fi watering system
People who have a garden in their backyard might want to consider moving their property into the 21st century by turning towards smart technology. For starters, you should think about getting a smart irrigation sprinkler controller. Most of these controllers can be purchased for less than $250, which means that they stand to pay for themselves quite quickly.
5. Solar-powered water heater
Most estimates claim that you would need somewhere around $17,000 in order to make your home run on solar energy. The problem with this investment is that it can take between 7 and 20 years to pay off. On the other hand, by purchasing such a system only for your water heater, you can ensure that your investment pays off in as little as 2 years. It might not be an exact equivalent, but it is definitely a solid start.
Conclusion
Regardless of your plans and intentions, making your home more sustainable requires quite a bit of effort; however, when you weigh the end result, it is definitely more than worth it. Whether your household remains ahead of the curve is completely up to you.
by Amelia Atkins
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