LED Lights

Perhaps the most popular of all these technologies. LED bulbs have now been around for a while and are the easiest switch you can make to instantly save money and make your home greener.

Fluorescent bulbs use 8 watts per foot, are made of glass and on average last around 8,500 hours. Incandescent bulbs are even worse lasting only 1,000 hours. Whereas, LED lights use 2-4 watts per foot, are rubberised and last 25,000 hours on average. This makes LED lights much more energy efficient and durable than your traditional lighting solutions.

Solar Panels

Solar panel installation and the popularity of solar technology is on the rise. According to government statistics, in the UK renewable electricity generation from solar photovoltaics in 2016 was 10,420 GWh that rose to an estimated 12,500 GWh in 2017. To put this into context, 1GWh is enough energy to power 100 million LED bulbs or the equivalent amount of power to roughly 1.3 million horses.

The electricity you generate from solar energy is theoretically free and with overheads such as cost of installing solar panels being reduced all the time due to the increased popularity and cheaper parts, you can start saving energy money easier than ever. You receive your ROI in fewer years than you would if you had installed solar panels 5 years ago.

The electricity you generate that isn’t immediately utilized by your home does not go to waste. You can sell your surplus back to the electricity grid, or store excess power in a battery.

If installed on your home, solar panels are estimated to save around 1 ton of carbon dioxide per year, the emission equivalent of driving a car for 39 hours continuously.

Smart meters

Smart meters are the next generation meter for both electricity and gas. They work by automatically and wirelessly sending your actual energy usage to your supplier, meaning more accurate bills and the end of estimated billing. With your in-home display you can track your energy usage and costs in real-time, so you can see where you are using lots of energy and where you can uncover savings.

Smart meters are part of a national smart strategy to get the UK providing low-carbon, efficient and reliable, cost-effective and low carbon energy to Britain’s homes.

Smart Power Strips

Whilst statistics surrounding how high standby power consumption is in your average home, many experts argue it can be as high as 5-10% of your total energy consumption.

Your traditional power strips are hugely popular and are a great way to economically increase the number of electrical points in your home. However, it does mean your electronics – like your tv, laptop and speaker systems – are left plugged in at all times.

Smart power strips are a forward-thinking solution to the energy sucking traditional power strips. Smart strips sense that you have turned off your electronic device and automatically shuts it down, reducing the amount of idle power your devices are using.

No longer will you have to continually unplug your electronic devices to reduce your passive energy consumption. Smart power strips will do all the work for you.

Smart Glass

Smart glass represents a technology with huge potential to reduce energy demand and consumption. There are many different types of smart glass that work in different ways – most popular is electrochromic smart glass. This is glass that becomes transparent when electricity is passed through it.

This change in the glass’s properties means you can alter the amount of heat and light energy that can penetrate the glass. Whether you want to reduce the amount of heat energy leaving your home by keeping the glass opaque, or increase the amount of light energy that can enter by turning the glass transparent, smart glass puts you in control to help you reduce your energy consumption.

Final Thoughts

Making your home greener has never been easier nor has it been more pressing. With global warming’s presence felt more than ever, our responsibility to ensure the places that we live are environmentally friendly is an action we should all consider to be a priority. These examples demonstrate the type of technology you can install in your home, and give you a general idea of the choices you have and why it is important for you to invest in them.

Shutterstock featured image

The post 5 Technologies You Can Purchase to Make Your Building Instantly Greener appeared first on Green Building Insider.

While offices and warehouses are able to enforce practices overnight like going “paperless”, for construction and building sites, it can be more of a challenge. Luckily there are a few steps your site can take to ensure your business is working towards a much greener and environmentally responsible future – no matter what your industry!

Cleveland Containers, a leading supplier of shipping container solutions to the industry, offer some green advice for construction business leaders…

The material world

What materials you use, how you use them and where they are sourced from, will play a vital role in your eco-friendly construction practices. Current materials predominantly used in construction produce too much C02 during and after construction, which makes these materials unsustainable. Fortunately, there are more sustainable materials available and the list is growing as the industry adapts:

• Sustainable concrete – Regular concrete is actually responsible for 7-10% of global C02 emissions but there is an alternative. Sustainable concrete is mixed with recyclable materials like crushed glass and wood chips.
• Wool bricks – These clever bricks use non-toxic materials and are actually up to 37% stronger than regular bricks while being more resistant to corrosive elements.
• Paper insulation – A great alternative to chemical foams like fibreglass. Recycled newspapers and cardboard can be used instead and are fire-retardant thanks to the inclusion of borax, boric acid and calcium carbonate – all natural materials!

A question of demolition

Recycling shouldn’t just be reserved for paper, plastics and glass – demolition practices can contribute too. Countless tonnes of used concrete and steel are simply dumped into landfills every day when these can be recycled for future construction jobs. Contact your nearest industrial crushing facility who can crush these materials into dry aggregate for future use.

Household construction waste like carpet, tiles and ceiling debris can also be used in a variety of ways. Plus, you will save money by avoiding the costs associated with disposing toxic materials, which are a hazard to everyone.

Keep it local

By using locally sourced materials, you will be cutting down on the huge energy usage associated with transporting large amounts of materials over long distances. Cut down on your carbon footprint and get your hands-on materials quicker too with locally sourced materials.

Remember, you’ll also be supporting your local businesses and suppliers and using local materials is something your business can shout about in the press and be proud of.

Energy efficiency best practice

There are also several basics you may be missing on your construction site that can have a large impact on your energy usage and efficiency. Take a walk around your site or create “green champions” in your company who look out for the following on site:

• Lighting – Switch to high efficiency lighting anywhere you can on site which will also help reduce your monthly bills.
• Site accommodation – Ensure your staff rooms, cafeterias and other site accommodation have an Energy Performance Certificate rating of A, B or C. Prioritise insulation and natural light over artificial heating too.
• On site offices – The same applies to your on-site offices. Keep windows closed and doors shut when your heating is on, keep computers shut down or hibernating when not in use and recycle everything you can.

Accept the green challenge

The challenges of sustainability and green practices are felt very heavily in construction– perhaps more than in any other industry. Heavy material usage, transportation and energy are at the heart of construction and are unavoidable by-products. However, if every company begins to take small green steps the impact on our environment could. be considerable.

Credit: Shutterstock

The post How to Make Your Work Site More Sustainable appeared first on Green Building Insider.