What are some good environmental home practices we can cultivate for green living? There are many ways to conserve energy and resources that can cut back on our carbon footprint we scorch into our world and that can save on expenses as well. We don’t have to do much, or rearrange our lives or daily schedules to where it would become burdensome, either. A person doesn’t need to operate a biodiesel refinery out in the back yard to help save the planet, certainly no. That would be nice, but one needn’t go quite so far in order to make a difference. What are some things we can do? Let’s see…
For one thing, we can cut down on lighting expenses by switching to florescent lighting. Florescent lights last over ten times as long as incandescent light bulbs do, and they also only consume about 25% of the electricity as well. This is something that, once the change is applied, you’d be able to notice a huge difference in the very next electricity bill. As for another environmental home practice, for those of us out there who pay a water bill, is the conservation of water. Do you have plants that need watering? Well, if we boil water for pasta, corn, lobster or what have you, why throw it away? Or when we rinse off vegetables, etc. – all that water can go to the plants and monthly water expense can be kept down to a minimum.
Heating and hot water is another thing… when we’re sleeping, do we need hot water? Do we need the heat to be cranked up while we’re cozy under the covers? What about when everyone is at work or school and no-one is in the house… who are we heating the place for? Is there any need for hot water? For better green living, try hooking up your hot water heater and your thermostat to a timer – it’s a truly superb way to drastically reduce utility costs. Have them both turn off (or the thermostat go low) about a half-hour after bed-time, and turn on/up about a half-hour before waking. So too, have them turn off when everyone is gone from the house during the day, and turn on again about an hour before arriving home. Keep these environmental home practices in mind and put them to action.
If you’re interested in learning more about environmental homes and other things related to alternative energy, then you’ve got to check out the EcoPlusHome project.
Bryan Kenny and his family are an average North American family with one exception…they’re living in the EcoPlusHome.
The EcoPlusHome is a prefabricated home powered by alternative energies like solar thermal, geothermal and photovoltaic. Bryan and his family will show the world that it is possible to live self sustained for a 12 month period by showcasing their journey living in the EcoPlusHome on their blog.
Tags: environmental homes, environmental information