By making smart home renovation choices, you will reduce your carbon footprint. This applies to all alterations, big and small. From putting up a new lighting fixture to renovating an entire room. Environmentally friendly renovations may not always be the easiest, but they are the kindest to the earth, and we think that makes it worth the effort. So, if you are planning one or more home improvement projects this year, follow these tips to ensure the changes you make are considerate of our environment.
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Flooring
Before you start your renovations, it’s a good idea to become familiar with the materials available to you and which are the most sustainable. Synthetic materials, such as plastic, continue to leave harmful imprints on the environment. Although more expensive, wood is a far more sustainable material for home renovations. Of all the building materials, it has the lowest energy consumption and C02 emission. So, choosing hardwood flooring is much more environmentally friendly than plastic.
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Lighting
We have to change our light bulbs on a fairly regular basis, so this is one small renovation we can all take part in. It is estimated that artificial lighting makes up around 15 percent of the average energy bill. However, this can be reduced significantly by choosing LED lights instead of incandescent bulbs. LED lighting requires much less power to operate and is a much more sustainable way to light your home by artificial means.
Improving the amount of natural light in your home should also be a priority when renovating. Avoid making changes that obstruct windows and block the sunlight. If you are redecorating a room, consider adding a mirror opposite your windows in order to reflect light into the room, making it feel brighter and larger.
If you live in an older home, your electrics might be out of date and therefore inefficient. The more inefficient your home is, the larger your carbon footprint and higher your energy bills will be. If you live in Killeen, you can use Dr. Watts Electric for electrical repair in Killeen to get your electrics replaced and updated. If you live somewhere else, it should be easy to find a similar electrician who can do the job for you.
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Paint
Eco-friendly paint is the only way to go and luckily there are many products now available to meet the growing demand for these products. You should be looking out for low or zero VOC paints. These products contain no, or very low levels, of chemicals that evaporate into the air while the paint is drying out. And just because they don’t contain these chemicals does not mean they aren’t as effective as conventional products. Eco-friendly paints are available in a wide array of colours. Just ask at your local DIY retailer for these products or have a look online.
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Unwanted appliances or materials
When it comes to any waste from your renovations, always think reduce, reuse and recycle. In fact, this is a good mantra to incorporate into your everyday lives. Although you may not want that old work surface anymore, it could come in use for someone else, so don’t contribute to the landfill problem by throwing it out. Ask around if anyone could make use of your unwanted items for their own renovations and if not, take them to your local recycling depot.
As well as these common home improvements, there are also smart choices you can make when conducting a more specialised renovation. Do your research before making any changes, to ensure you are doing it the eco-friendly way.
Thanks for stopping by, we hope you found this post helpful.