April 22nd is the day we celebrate the planet we call our home. But, living in a green home brings many advantages every day of the year. It’s often too expensive to buy a new home, but you can always upgrade your existing one and make it more eco-friendly. Let’s make Earth Day every day.
1. Green Home Benefits
Although there are countless benefits of living in a green home, here are the main ones.
Improved health
Green homes have better indoor air quality as they tend to be made from non-toxic materials.
Enhanced comfort
Green homes are built from quality and natural materials that makes them better insulated and therefore result in fewer temperature variations.
High ROI
Green investments pay for themselves as they result in lower maintenance and utility costs. Green updates make a home more energy-efficient which can significantly cut your Vectren Energy costs. Green homes also last longer as they are more durable. Most green home upgrades result in huge savings on your energy bills, in addition to simply being the right thing to do.
You are doing your part in saving the planet
Living in a green home reduces your environmental impact and harm on the ecosystem through a reduction in use of depletable sources. For example, by installing solar panels you get to power your home with clean and renewable energy instead of relying on fossil fuels.
2. Best Green Home Upgrades for The Money
Here are a few simple upgrades when you remodel your home that can make your home greener and give you a good ROI. A properly planned remodel can help make it feel like a brand new place and strategically-done home improvements will help make it more attractive in the eyes of potential buyers if you ever think about selling.
Replace the old door
As simple as this may sound, replacing an old exterior door with an Energy-Star certified one is a great way to improve your home’s energy efficiency as it could save you as much as 10% from your heating and cooling costs. Fiberglass doors mimic the look of authentic wood doors and they are ideal for harsh climates. Steel doors might not be as attractive, but they are cheaper, stronger, and usually more energy efficient in temperate or hot, dry climates.
Non-toxic carpet
A green upgrade doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Getting an eco-friendly carpet made from natural materials like wool, jute or seagrass will help keep you warm during winter without emitting adhesives contain chemicals called VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which are bad both for the environment and your health as they can cause a host of symptoms like dizziness, nausea, and fatigue.
Install a skylight
On average, 40% of a home’s energy usage comes directly from all that artificial lighting. If you don’t have a lot of windows to benefit from natural light, consider installing a skylight that is adored by house buyers for good reason. New ones are also made to open to allow fresh air in, reducing humidity and the resultant mold that tends to build up in closed, moisture-prone spaces.
3. Eco-Friendly Ways To Help You Save Money in Your Home
Green living is a mindset. It means living in a way that is friendly from the planet and therefore, it includes both what you do in and outside of your home.
Consider gardening
Many people found even indoor gardening as therapy when COVID-19 started its relentless march across the globe. This activity is adored by people across the globe as a hobby for its psychological and physical benefits. It soothes the mind and activates the body, while taking in the advantages of the sunshine vitamin D. However, gardening is a lot more than being a great hobby that also increases your home’s curb appeal. You get to grow the food you want to eat. Start with a simple herb garden and enjoy the scents, flavors and money saved you’ll gain as a result.
Use energy-efficient devices
Energy-Star certified devices are designed to perform the same task while using much less energy. If you don’t feel like investing in a smart thermostat that will make a big difference to your comfort and utility bill, start small with a power strip that will at least eliminate phantom energy waste.
Do your laundry in an eco-friendly manner
Do only full loads. Line-dry your clothes. At the very least, stop using dryer sheets that are bad for the environment and use essential oils or a dryer ball that is a little wool ball that can be used for thousands of times. It also comes without chemicals, and actually works to reduce lint, helping your device live longer.
TakeawayOur planet is too magnificent for us only to celebrate it during one day of the year. The least we can do is make our homes eco-friendlier as a small token of our gratitude. Being eco-friendly does much more than ‘just’ help save our planet for future generations- it saves us money, makes us healthier and helps us enjoy life even more.