3 Helpful Features of An Eco-Friendly Home To Consider

Anyone that is committed to living an eco-friendly lifestyle should focus on making the right improvements to their home. CityLab wrote an article in 2011 on the overlooked link between our homes and carbon footprint. We have done more research recently, which has shed some light on the issue.

Creating an Eco-friendlier Home Should Be a Priority

If you’re passionate about trying to save the planet and live a eco-friendlier lifestyle, your home is usually a good place to start. Whether you’re looking to update your current home, or you want to purchase a more environmentally friendly property to live in or let out, there are several things that you can do.

The average home creates 40% more emissions than the average car, so this is something you can’t overlook. Here are three features that you should look for in an eco-friendly home.

Good insulation

The more high-quality insulation in a property, the better. Homes with good insulation are warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, meaning there’s less need to use artificial heating or air cons which can use up a lot of energy. Having a well-insulated property also results in lower energy bills along with making you much more comfortable in your home. Adding the right insulation can reduce energy loss by 10%.

Insulation can be found in the walls, ceilings, and floors of a home, and even if you don’t feel that your home is currently insulated to a good standard, it’s never too late to install. Hire a specialist to come out and assess your property, checking the areas that could benefit from new insulation. Another area to focus on is the windows, as without double glazed windows you could be losing a lot of heat from your home.

Smart lighting

An eco-friendly feature that’s easy to use and install, smart lighting is a trend that’s helping the environment while making home life easier in the process. Smart lighting helps limit the amount of energy that’s wasted in the home as users are able to control lighting more easily. For instance, smart lighting can connect to devices like the user’s smartphone and allow them to turn their lighting on and off even when they’re not home. A study found that unnecessarily leaving lights on leads to 37,440,000 kg worth of carbon dioxide emissions — that equates to 62 flights around the world.

Because of the eco-friendly benefits of this lighting, more buy to let property companies are using smart lighting fixtures within their properties. RW Invest, a property company based in Liverpool, is creating many off-plan investment opportunities that feature this lighting trend as a way to benefit the environment as well as increasing demand from eco-conscious buyers and tenants.

Renewable energy

Renewable energy sources in the home are a trend that’s growing in popularity, allowing users to power their home in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective way. Compared to fossil fuels like oil and coal, renewable sources of energy will never run out and can help homeowners reduce energy bills, boost the value of their property, and lower their carbon footprint.

The most popular type of renewable energy source is solar panels which are placed on your roof and work effectively to power your home. Other methods include installing wind turbines outside the property, although this can be unsightly and take up space. Using solar air conditioning and heat pumps to change the temperature of your home is another popular choice which is less unsightly and conspicuous than solar panels or wind turbines.

Make Renewable Living a Priority

There are a lot of factors that you need to consider if you are serious about being eco-friendly. One of the best things that you can do is make the right improvements to your home. We hope these tips will help you on your quest to lower your carbon footprint.