Being green is something a lot of us strive for and having a sustainable home is a big part of that. Home sustainability is where homeowner chose practices that reduce the homes environmental footprint, whether this is through waste management or energy and water use. Taking control of your everyday practices at home will be a major push towards a sustainable future, here are a few tips to get you started.
Table of Contents
1. Lagom
Lagom is a good place to start for home sustainability as it is more of an idea that a set guide, making it a great for beginners. Lagom is a Swedish principle that focus’ on finding happiness in everyday living. In terms of sustainable living, it focuses of finding harmony with the environment in everyday life. When followed as an idea it encourages us to be conscious of our decisions, purchases, waste production and energy use. At a simple level it can be choosing a green rubbish removal service that focuses on recycling or choosing an energy provider that uses renewable energy sources.
2. Create a green home
A green home is design and built with sustainability in mind. It starts with the design, placement and architecture of the home. A house can be placed and orientated in a way that makes to the most of its position and geographical location, providing shade in the summer and warmth in the winter. The materials and additions of extra insulation and the like also impact a home’s reliant of heating and cooling. If a property is well insulated it won’t use as much electricity to heat or cool. Green homes are also made from sustainable materials and local if possible, to reduce transportation increasing it’s carbon footprint.
3. Smart Home
Smart homes and often confused with green homes, but they are in fact separate from each other. You can have a smart home without it being a green home and vice versa, or your home can be both smart and green. A smart home is focused on technology and how it can improve our living. For sustainability, smart homes are most useful when monitoring and analysing energy use. If you can monitor energy use and see where you’re using excessive electricity or what can be improved to reduce electricity consumption you will go a long way in improving your home sustainability.
If feasible, use all three of the above trends, this will achieve the best results in home sustainability. But if you’re just starting your journey into home sustainability, take it slow and use the above to avoid mistakes and understand why you’re doing something so you can do it to the best of your ability.
