Sustainable Living Shouldn’t End with Owning a Green Home

At Green Building Insider, our goal is to teach people to construct and manage eco-friendly buildings. The construction and buildings sectors account for 39% of all carbon emissions. Anybody that wants to lower their carbon footprint should invest in an eco-friendly home. Businesses should also invest in green buildings.

However, sustainability obviously shouldn’t end with owning and managing green buildings or living in a green home. You have to find other ways to lower your carbon footprint as well. We will cover some of the ideas to consider in this article.

Ways to Be Eco-Friendlier

Whether you’re an environmentalist or not, the truth is that there are plenty of eco-friendly choices that can benefit you. Not only can they improve your quality of life, but many of them can save you money as well. While you may not have thought about them, these are some of the best eco-friendly choices to make when you want more money in your pocket. We will cover both building and non-building related ideas.

Building Related Ways to Lower Your Carbon Footprint

There are a number of ways that you can change your home to be eco-friendlier. Some ideas are listed below.

Upgrade Home Insulation

Insulation is one of the most important eco-friendly features of any home. Data from the EPA shows that you can reduce energy costs by 15% by adding insulation to your attic and basement alone.

When you upgrade your home insulation, you’ll also be upgrading its energy efficiency. This can mean keeping your home cool during summer and warm during winter, which will help reduce the amount of money that you spend on utilities. Insulation is a big part of how we keep our homes comfortable, but it has other benefits besides those related to temperature control.

Insulating helps reduce noise pollution in our living spaces by preventing sound waves from traveling through walls and ceilings easily. It can also help keep dust and pollen out which improves air quality, especially for those with breathing problems. Search for insulation contractors near me to find someone who can help improve your home insulation.

Automate Your Thermostat

The most obvious way to save money by using an eco-friendly thermostat is to set the temperature at a level that suits you and your family. This can be anything from 68 degrees while you’re sleeping, to 75 degrees when the whole family is awake and home. This is one of the reasons why many people are choosing smart thermostats for their homes as well.

Install an Energy-Efficient Showerhead

If you’re looking to save water while showering, installing an energy-efficient showerhead is a great way to start. They spit out fewer gallons of water but still have good water pressure. It should also have a flow restrictor, which limits the amount of water flowing through the device and helps prevent damage from high pressure.

Non-Building Related Ways to Lower Your Carbon Footprint

Since this blog is obviously focused on green buildings, we wanted to start off talking about ways to change your home to be eco-friendlier. However, there are some other ways that you can lower your carbon footprint. These ideas are detailed below.

Buy a Used Car

One of the most overlooked ways to save money on a car is by buying a used one. A new car loses value immediately, and over time is not a good asset. Buying used can help you not only save cash, but it means that fewer new cars need to be made. This helps the environment, and the price tag helps your wallet. Sometimes you can even find good hybrid cars that are pre-owned at a great price. While buying from a dealership is one option, another option is finding an individual seller who owns a great used car they want to sell privately rather than having it go through channels and come with inflated prices from commissions on both ends of the transaction.

Eat Out Less

Eating at home is a great way to save money, but it’s also good for the environment. Cooking at home means less packaging and fewer restaurant visits, which all help reduce waste. If you eat out a lot, consider cutting back on that habit. It might be tempting to grab food from a nearby eatery when you’re tired or busy, but this can add up quickly—plus restaurants are often less efficient with their energy use than homes are. You’ll help the environment and save big money in your wallet.

Air Dry Your Clothes

There are a lot of reasons to air dry your clothes. It saves energy, money, and time. But did you know it also helps the environment? Drying your laundry in an electric or gas dryer uses a lot of energy—so much so that it’s considered one of the most expensive household expenses. And with today’s high cost of living, every little bit counts. So why not save some cash by letting Mother Nature do her thing? Even if you don’t have a yard, you can set up racks to dry your clothes in your living room.

The average person spends $1,000 per year on electricity for their clothes dryer. If you hang-dry just half of your laundry, then over the course of a year you could save up to $500 on electricity costs. Not only does this help keep your monthly power bill down; but when those savings are compounded over years and decades, they add up quickly.

Use Public Transportation More Often

Using public transportation is a great way to save money on gas, car maintenance, and the time spent driving. It also helps the environment by reducing carbon emissions and decreasing traffic congestion. Even taking the bus one day a week can make a big difference.

Lower Your Carbon Footprint Both by Crating an Eco-Friendly Home and Living More Sustainably

There are a lot of environmental benefits of using green building practices. However, it is also important to follow other sustainable living tips to reduce your carbon footprint. The guidelines listed above can help immensely.