Energy Efficient Living

Living a green lifestyle is no longer the province of the young and revolutionary! As the cost of energy continues to rise and budgets become less and less flexible, everyone is realizing the connection between living e a greener, more energy efficient life and cost savings. There are so many ways to create an energy saving house–here are some of our favorite, easy tweaks that make a BIG difference!

Check your Appliances! The dryer and the refrigerator use up the bulk of home energy usage, but both can be made more efficient easily. Regular vacuum cleaning of your dryer vents and refrigerator coils makes a big difference in energy usage as it allows better airflow and less waste. Also, checking your refrigerator and ovens for correct temperatures ensures that things are working properly and functioning at their most efficient. {Check out our post for 10 ways to save energy in the kitchen}

Check your water usage! Installing faucet aerators and shower heads with flow reduction can save hundreds of dollars, but also decrease your overall energy usage (less water wasted means less water heated).

Choose healthy home goods. Sometimes it’s the small things that matter: choosing quality kitchen goods and products can make a big difference in the carbon footprint of your homelife. Products made from glass or renewable sources like bamboo and cork make for beautiful kitchen equipment, and reduce the amount of toxics in your home. Try to purchase new items made from sustainable or recyclable products and avoid those made with plastic and chemicals.

get solar on your house!

Though not a part of the home exactly, vehicles make up a big part of everyone’s budget. Choosing hybrid or electric vehicles are a great way to reduce the energy costs in your life, and to demonstrate your commitment to living a greener lifestyle. Electric cars are becoming increasingly popular (and increasingly sexy!) as a way to limit our dependance of fossil fuels and to still let the racecar driver in all of us get our zoom-zoom on!

Make big energy efficient fixes for your home a priority: If you have the money to spend on big projects, think about installing radiant barriers, solar panels, Solatubes, on-demand hot water heaters, natural installation and energy-efficient windows and flooring. These big changes will add up to big savings and add a lot to the market value of your home.

The interactive energy home was designed by Blinds Supermarket, and this post is generously supported by Hillary’s Blinds.

Get the Green Living Ideas book in softcover or PDF for as low as $2.99!

Please follow and like us:

About the Author

Guest Contributor is many, many people. We publish a number of guest posts from experts in a large variety of fields. This is our contributor account for those special people. :D