Your home is a safe place to call your own. Within the walls of your unique place, you make lifelong memories, bring out your personality and style, and invest in your family’s future. This incredible place that is unique to you can also serve to benefit the Earth instead of harm it.
By making sustainable decisions, you can have a true impact on bettering not only your quality of life or your neighborhood but the planet as a whole. These decisions are becoming more and more plentiful as sustainable alternatives become available, and already we have a long list of things you can do right now that are practical and possible. Let’s take a look at the six best high-impact sustainable changes that you’re able to make at home right now.
Heat Pump
Despite the name, a heat pump is a great option to both heat and cool your home throughout the whole year. This energy-efficient alternative is the best option for a two-in-one heating and air conditioning combo and requires only electricity to operate.
Electric Appliances
Your heating and cooling system aren’t the only home changes that can become more sustainable. Outdoor grills or heaters and indoor stoves and ovens can all be electrified to reduce emissions and save you money too.
Water-free Lawn
Maintaining a grass lawn requires a lot of upkeep, energy, and water. A more sustainable option is replacing your grass with wood chips or stones that don’t need to be watered. On top of these, you can add plants to maintain biodiversity while still using less.
Solar Panels
You likely know about solar panels, a great way to capture energy from the sun and turn it into electricity. Home solar panels can be installed on your roof or yard and are constantly getting cheaper and more efficient.
Grow Your Own Produce
Growing your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs is not only fun, but it gives you a very sustainable way of eating too. Since you’re growing right at home, you don’t have to contribute to the massive energy and emissions coming from factory farming, transportation, or market storage. You’re also able to reduce waste by only taking what you need as you need it.
High-Quality Materials
The exterior of your home has a plethora of options for materials that are more sustainable too. Choosing materials such as reclaimed wood can help contribute to the important principle of reusing. You can also save money and efficiency by installing better insulation on your walls and double-paned or opaque glass to reduce the amount of energy that you need to regulate temperature.
Key Takeaways
- More often than not, sustainable home fixes improve everything from value to practicality.
- Each home is different, and you may not be able to implement every sustainable change, but all homes can implement some of them.
- Your decisions help not only you but also your family, neighbors, city, and around the world.
