5 Ways to Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Your Green Home

Many people would like to live a greener lifestyle. One of the biggest changes that they would like to make is having a greener home.

This is becoming more important as people start to recognize the consequences of climate change. NASA reports that the average global surface temperature has increased two degrees in recent years, which can have a terrifying impact on the planet.

Reducing Your Carbon Footprint to Fight Climate Change

Climate change remains the biggest threat to our planet and our immediate future as a species and as more and more people come to that realization, more of us want to do something about it on a ground level. There are dozens of things you could be doing to reduce your carbon footprint at home with surprisingly little effort.

Follow the five R’s – Refuse, reduce, reuse, rot and recycle are the five cornerstones of any carbon-neutral makeover. Refuse refers to avoiding single-use materials, reduce means simply downsizing what you’re purchasing, reuse means to go out of your way to keep items relevant, rot refers to a compost system and recycle is pretty straightforward.

Use renewable energy – Installing solar panels is becoming an increasingly legitimate option for houses across the UK. There are numerous financial incentives being offered if you’re willing to look hard enough and you could even install them yourself if you are proficient in construction work. Though you might want to insure yourself before undergoing any serious work because if an injury occurs, you want to ensure you’re covered in case you are misdiagnosed due to poor care from a medical professional.

Keep the car in the garage – Even if you have an electric car, you’ll be taking so much off your overall carbon footprint if you choose to walk or cycle to work instead. You don’t need to see it as a chore either. Think of it as getting in your daily workout and your commute at the same time!

Optimize your home – There are dozens of ways you could be optimizing your home to take advantage of improvements in energy efficiency. For example, perhaps consider installing a new efficient boiler or going for a heat pump instead? Or maybe you could replace all of your old halogen lightbulbs with more efficient LED bulbs LED lights? Then there’s the whole argument for improving your home’s insulation. And this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Grow your own food – It’s not as difficult as you might think, especially if you compost properly. We’re not expecting you to become a full-time farmer here but by at least growing your own vegetables and herbs you’ll be making a substantial difference. Going further, you can also make a difference to your carbon footprint by avoiding the supermarket and shopping locally at your local farm shops too. The produce is always better and you might strike up a friendship with the farmers, which means even more savings.

Follow These Tips to Create a Greener Home

Ultimately, it all comes back to those 5 R’s. Everything you’re about to make a decision about how you run your household, run those 5 R’s through your mind and use it as a litmus test to help you make the right choice. It’s a tough habit to break into but once you do you’ll wonder why living a more eco-friendly life isn’t something you tried years ago.