Creating a More Efficient Home

** In Collaboration ** 

Energy efficiency is something that we’re all growing more concerned about. An inefficient home can be bad for the environment, it can be cold, and it can mean that your energy bills are much higher than they need to be. On the other hand, an efficient home is comfortable, often happier and more relaxed, with far more reasonable energy bills and is significantly more environmentally friendly. 

You may worry that creating a more efficient home will be costly, time-consuming, or that it will uproot your home life. Fortunately, many of the changes are small, easy, and quick to implement. Let’s take a look at some of them. 

Look at Your Heating

Old heating systems can be poor quality, expensive, and especially wasteful. If your bills are very high, but your home never seems to be a comfortable temperature, start by looking into more efficient gas heating systems.

Make Some Repairs

Often, our homes become more inefficient over time. If your radiators need bleeding, they may be less effective. If your window seals are damaged, they may be letting heat out in the winter, and warm air in during the summer months. Damaged windows and doors can also lead to a wasteful loss of energy. Walk around your home and make a list of anything that needs repairing. 

Change Your Habits

Another very common cause of loss of heat and wasted energy at home is our own poor habits. If you are guilty of leaving devices on standby, lights on, doors open, unused plugs plugged in and switched on and curtains open when the sun goes down, start to think about changing your habits and living more thoughtfully. 

Get Growing

A fantastic way to become more environmentally friendly at home is to grow your own fruit and vegetables. Stop shopping at large stores, reduce the energy needed to create the things that you buy, and avoid waste, by growing your own. You are also more likely to eat well and to enjoy your food if you grow it for yourself. 

Change Your Bulbs

Old-fashioned light bulbs are very wasteful and need replacing more often. Save money with bulbs that last longer and cost less to use. Energy-efficient bulbs fit in most lights and are often brighter, as well as cheaper. 

Install Solar Panels

Installing solar panels is a larger change, and they can be costly. But you may be eligible for a grant to help with the costs, and you will save a lot of money on energy in the future. Solar panels will also reduce the non-renewable energy that your home uses. 

Use Technology

Smart home technology is a valuable tool when it comes to being more efficient. Smart lights can come on and go off when you enter and leave rooms, and a smart thermostat gives you far greater control over your heating and cooling. 

You may have already made the switch to reusable straws, bags, and bottles, which is great, but if you are looking for more ways to live an eco-friendlier lifestyle, why not look to make some changes at home?