Reducing your home’s environmental impact begins with reducing its carbon footprint. Your home’s carbon emissions as a result of your activities, or its carbon footprint, can be reduced by making environmentally sounder decisions, upgrading appliances and using less energy while taking advantage of what nature has to offer.

Here are four way to reduce your home’s environmental impact.

Take Advantage of Nature

To avoid turning on lamps and lights around your house during the daytime, take advantage of natural light. To do this, avoid crowding furniture around your windows or glass doors to allow natural light into your home. Do keep your refrigerator out of the sun so it doesn’t have to use as much energy to keep itself cool. In regards to your home’s outdoor landscape, trees are great for protection from the sun in the summers and from the cold winds during the winter. Be sure to only plant native trees and plants to protect your local environment and reduce your home’s impact. Take advantage of the sun’s drying powers in the summer and air dry your laundry outside instead of using your dryer. Having houseplants, such as a spider plant, improves the air quality of your home without having to purchase an air purifier that requires electricity.

Invest in and Maintain Your Appliances

When your appliances are ready to be replaced or upgraded, invest in green appliances by looking for the ENERGY STAR certification. Appliances that meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) strict standards use less energy, contribute less greenhouses gases into the atmosphere and the best part, eventually pay for themselves in savings on your energy bill. Maintaining your new appliances according to the manufactures instructions will ensure their life-long efficiency and reduce their energy usage. Instead of purchasing new appliances every time something breaks, purchase a comprehensive, trustworthy home warranty that gives you access to protection from expensive repair costs and keeps your appliances running properly for a longer period of time.

Unplug and Turn Off Electronics

Think of all the electronics that are currently plugged in throughout your house but aren’t being used. This includes televisions, stereo systems, game consoles, your coffee maker, blow dryer or even the microwave. The small amount of energy that is wasted by items that are not being used but are still plugged in, adds up quickly. Appliances that aren’t used everyday, or even only once a day, should be unplugged between uses. For appliances that are used more often, a surge suppressor or power strip turns the appliances off completely when they’re not in use without having to unplug them. Avoid using hibernation or standby mode for electronics such as a laptop or tablet. Instead, turn them off completely between uses to avoid having to charge as often and as a result, waste energy.

Use Cold Water When Possible

Eliminate the energy used to heat water and use cold water whenever possible. Use cold water for tasks such as laundry, washing and rinsing dishes. Washing with cold water also eliminates the water waste that occurs when you’re waiting for the water to heat up. If you must use hot water, collect the water that’s running while you wait to water your house hold plants or to use for cooking purposes.

Reducing your home’s environmental impact begins with reducing its carbon footprint. Your home’s carbon emissions as a result of your activities, or its carbon footprint, can be reduced by making environmentally sounder decisions, upgrading appliances and using less energy while taking advantage of what nature has to offer.

Here are four way to reduce your home’s environmental impact.

Take Advantage of Nature

To avoid turning on lamps and lights around your house during the daytime, take advantage of natural light. To do this, avoid crowding furniture around your windows or glass doors to allow natural light into your home. Do keep your refrigerator out of the sun so it doesn’t have to use as much energy to keep itself cool. In regards to your home’s outdoor landscape, trees are great for protection from the sun in the summers and from the cold winds during the winter. Be sure to only plant native trees and plants to protect your local environment and reduce your home’s impact. Take advantage of the sun’s drying powers in the summer and air dry your laundry outside instead of using your dryer. Having houseplants, such as a spider plant, improves the air quality of your home without having to purchase an air purifier that requires electricity.

Invest in and Maintain Your Appliances

When your appliances are ready to be replaced or upgraded, invest in green appliances by looking for the ENERGY STAR certification. Appliances that meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) strict standards use less energy, contribute less greenhouses gases into the atmosphere and the best part, eventually pay for themselves in savings on your energy bill. Maintaining your new appliances according to the manufactures instructions will ensure their life-long efficiency and reduce their energy usage. Instead of purchasing new appliances every time something breaks, purchase a comprehensive, trustworthy home warranty that gives you access to protection from expensive repair costs and keeps your appliances running properly for a longer period of time.

Unplug and Turn Off Electronics

Think of all the electronics that are currently plugged in throughout your house but aren’t being used. This includes televisions, stereo systems, game consoles, your coffee maker, blow dryer or even the microwave. The small amount of energy that is wasted by items that are not being used but are still plugged in, adds up quickly. Appliances that aren’t used everyday, or even only once a day, should be unplugged between uses. For appliances that are used more often, a surge suppressor or power strip turns the appliances off completely when they’re not in use without having to unplug them. Avoid using hibernation or standby mode for electronics such as a laptop or tablet. Instead, turn them off completely between uses to avoid having to charge as often and as a result, waste energy.

Use Cold Water When Possible

Eliminate the energy used to heat water and use cold water whenever possible. Use cold water for tasks such as laundry, washing and rinsing dishes. Washing with cold water also eliminates the water waste that occurs when you’re waiting for the water to heat up. If you must use hot water, collect the water that’s running while you wait to water your house hold plants or to use for cooking purposes.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20452423_20892303,00.html

https://www.totalprotect.com/

https://www.energystar.gov/buildings/about-us/energy-star-certification