Being Green is as Easy as ABC
May 12, 2008 by schmidthomes
Everywhere you turn these days there is green building this and green building that. What are some of the easy things that a homeowner can do to make their home green without spending a lot of green.
1. Start with having an energy audit. Most electric companies offer these at a minimum fee. They will test you home to find the leaks and make recommendations for improvements. Then you can decided what you can afford to do.
2. As you light bulbs burn out, replace them with compact florescent bulbs or LED bulbs.
3. Fix all your leaky faucets
4. Caulk around your windows on the exterior to create an air tight seal
5. When your buying new plants purchase drought resistant plants to reduce the amount of water used to keep them happy
6. Run full loads in your dishwasher
7. Run full loads of laundry
8. Air dry clothes instead of running the dryer every time you do laundry
If you want to make some larger changes you might consider:
1. Increase insulation in your attic and walls
2. Replace your windows with 2 or 3-paned windows
3. Replace all of your plumbing fixtures to water efficient fixtures
4. New Energy Star Appliances - and be sure to recycle your old ones
5. Install a high-efficiency furnace
6. Install photo voltaic solar panels to heat your home
7. Put in solar water heating panels
This is just a drop in the bucket of some of the green building products and practices that are going on. Be sure to do your research and put in what works for you. Just composting your food waste can make a huge dent in your production of garbage. Being aware is the first step. Make the changes as you can.
