Slashing Carbon Footprints By Creating Lovely Sustainable Homes

I recently spoke with a friend that claims to be a massive advocate for environmentalism. He says that he is serious about fighting climate change and was a strong supporter of the Green New Deal. However, he clearly isn’t following through with his pledge.

He lives in a house with seven bedrooms. He doesn’t even try to use sustainable heating sources. Sadly, he is not an anomaly.

The Importance of Sustainable Homes to Fight Climate Change

If there is one overused buzzword that has caught the attention of every industry around over the last few years it is “sustainability”. Countless people claim to be serious about promoting sustainability. However, they often don’t put their money where their mouth is. This is especially common when it comes to running their home.

Of course, there are excellent reasons to be more sustainable. We all know the detrimental effects of climate change and attempting to live by sustainable values is something that is going to only help with the matter. Greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity rose 7% between 1990 and 2014, which is putting our climate at risk.

The construction market is something that is always targeted when it comes to sustainability. According to many experts, this industry is thought to be one of the top contributors to carbon emissions. While the biggest construction companies often receive the brunt of the criticism, it is important not to forget that domestic homeowners can also do their part to ease the problem.

This is what we are going to cover in-detail today, as we take a look at some of the easy wins you can make in your home as you bid to reduce your carbon footprint.

Start with the wall and windows

If you’re looking for those big sustainable improvements at home (that will also prompt monumental savings on your energy bills), then your walls and windows should be the first areas in which you target.

Let’s start by talking about making sustainable improvements to your walls. One of the easiest changes is to simply insulate them. It sounds a bit too good to be true, but the results can be surprisingly brilliant. Granted, you might need to take a look at the options for self storage as the project might prompt a lot of dust, but overall it’s quite a simple job and will make the world of difference.

Then, it’s onto the windows. Nowadays, most homes have double-glazing (or triple, in some cases). If you fall into the single-glazed category, there are some monumental gains to be had though. This is where you can really make the difference with your home, and not rely on the heating as much as you currently do.

Be shrewd with your choice of appliances

If you’ve shopped around for appliances over recent times, you’ll have seen all of the energy scores that are attached to them.

Suffice to say, we just need to tell you that the higher the grade, the better for the environment. Considering how much water and energy they use; you can again work wonders with your carbon footprint just by choosing one of the more efficient models.

Unplug your devices

As you may have already seen, some of the suggestions we have alluded to today are quite radical and will involve renovation work on your home (at least in relation to the first point).

It’s bordering on ridiculous how simple this next task is. Rather than keeping your devices plugged in at all hours of the day, simply turn them off. If they’re not, they are drawing out energy. Want a frightening statistic? The US is thought to drain over $19 billion every year in energy through these unused, plugged-in devices.

Understand your choice of energy provider

Nowadays, we’re quite price conscious when it comes to shopping around for a new energy supplier. We’ve seen all the comparison websites, but something you might want to think about are how much these suppliers are dedicating to green energy resources. For some, it’s more than others, and when it comes to the carbon footprint of your home this is something else that will make all of the difference.

Make Sustainable Housing a Priority

There are a lot of great ways to make your home more sustainable. These changes will help you lower your carbon footprint and stave off the harmful effects of climate change.