10 Ways to Green Up Your Home

Being earth-friendly doesn't require going solar or growing all your own food. Making your home a little greener is easy but will have a great impact on the environment. A few simple changes in your house can go a long way to combat both high energy bills and global warming

There are plenty of easy ways to make a big difference, consider these 10 tips and save money. 

1. Use CFLs 
Replace your incandescent light bulbs with ENERGY STAR® qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). By replacing even your five most frequently used light bulbs, you'll save $100 per year because they use 66% less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and last up to 10 times longer.

2. Program Your Thermostats 
Watch the temperature and save 10% on your heating and cooling costs just by setting your thermostat back when you're not home and while you're sleeping. Turn down the thermostat in cold weather and keep it higher in warm weather. Each degree below 20°C(68°F) during colder weather saves 3% - 5% more heating energy, while keeping your thermostat at 25°C(78°F) in warmer weather will save you energy and money. You won't notice the change in the temperature, until you look at the reduction in your energy bills. 

3. Plug Air Leaks 
Air leaks are the biggest energy waster in the home but they can be simple to plug. Install weather-stripping and caulk to stop those expensive drafts and improve comfort. It's cheap and easy and good for the environment . Look for leaks around windows, doors, electrical outlets, plumbing penetrations, and in the attic floor. 

4. Go Low-Flow 
Install low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators to save resources without sacrificing water pressure. An efficient showerhead will save your family $300 per year. They only cost about $15 and installing them couldn't be easier, just screw them on! You could also install a low-flow toilet. However, if you don't want to make changes to you washroom, adjust your toilet's float valve to admit less water into the toilet's tank.

5. Green Up Your Appliances 
When replacing your appliances, such as your water heater, furnace, or air conditioner, you should select ENERGY STAR qualified products. Appliance use comprises about 18% of a typical home’s total energy bill. If any of your appliances is more than 10 years old, replacing them with energy-efficient models that bear their "Energy Star" logo will be very beneficial and save you hundreds of dollars a year.

6. Clean Green
Stop buying household cleaners that are toxic to both you and the environment. Use alcohol instead of toxic butyl cellosolve,  found in carpet cleaner and some window cleaners as a solvent; coconut or other plant oils rather than petroleum in detergents. Or, skip buying altogether and make your own cleaning products. Use simple ingredients such as plain soap, water, baking soda, vinegar, and lemon juice and save money.

7. Bamboo for Floors
Renovating your wooden floors? Look for bamboo. Bamboo is considered an environmentally friendly flooring material due to its high yield and the relatively fast rate at which it replenishes itself. It takes about four to six years for bamboo to mature while other typical hardwood take 50-100 years. Just be sure to look for sources that use formaldehyde-free glues.

8. Use Healthier Paint
Conventional paints contain solvents, toxic metals, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can cause smog, ozone pollution, and indoor air quality problems, all that result with negative health effects. These unhealthy ingredients are released into the air while you’re painting, while the paint dries, and even after the paints are completely dry. When selecting paints, look for the Green Seal and opt for zero- or low-VOC paint.

9. Save a Tree
You can save a tree if you use less paper. You can buy "tree-free" 100% post-consumer recycled paper for everything from greeting cards to toilet paper. Paper with a high post-consumer waste content uses less virgin pulp and keeps more waste paper out of landfills.
 
10. Garden Green
When fertilizing your garden's grass, flowers, and plants, use compost instead of synthetic fertilizers. Compost provides a full complement of soil organisms and the balance of nutrients needed to maintain the soil’s well-being. This will result in a healthy soil, which will minimize weeds and is key to producing healthy plants.

 When it comes to saving the environment, being a good global citizen starts at your doorstep. From using alternative cleaning materials to making minor changes at your home, all can add up to big benefits for the planet and your health and will also save you money.