How to Live Green at Home
You only have to look at your power bills to see how much climate change producing energy is used in the home. The good news is there are a number of ways you can live green at home and reduce your impact on the environment.
Lighting
Appliances
The Kitchen
The Laundry
The Bathroom
Heating and Cooling
Lighting Tips for Living Green
Lighting accounts for about 12 percent of home energy consumption — that means the lights in the average household produce just over a tonne of carbon dioxide each year. Here are a few green living tips to help reduce this heat-trapping pollution and help fight climate change.
- Use energy-efficient lights: A 13 watt compact fluorescent bulb provides the same amount of light as a 60 watt bulb, saving you 47 watts. They also last up to 15 times as long and give off 70 percent less heat.
- Turn off lights: Turn off the lights when you leave a room and only use as much lighting as is necessary.
- Use natural light: Open blinds and curtains so you can use sunlight to help light rooms.
- Install motion-sensors so that lights automatically turn on when someone is in the room and turn off when empty.
- At Christmas: LED Christmas lights use up to 90 percent less energy than traditional lights use. They also last for many years and require no bulb changes.
Green Your Appliances
Household appliances can account for nearly eight tonnes of heat-trapping emissions per household per year, adding significantly to climate change. You can help reduce these emissions by choosing your appliances wisely and using your appliances wisely.
- Buy Energy-Efficient Products: Check the energy rating of products before you buy them. The more stars the better.
- Size matters: When in the market for an appliance, make sure you buy what suits your needs. Items too large or too small waste electricity and your money.
- Switch off: Don't leave appliances switched on when not in use. Turn off your computer or the TV when you’re not using it. Unplug chargers when not in use.
- Don't standby: Many appliances use nearly as much power when in standby mode as when being used. A rechargeable appliance consumes while waiting; if you don't intend to use it soon, unplug it for a spell.
- Smell the roses: Plug-in room deodorizers consume energy; plug in only when company is coming or use natural alternatives like fresh flowers.
- Save time. Save money: Appliances with time-saving features usually also save on energy.
Green Living in the Kitchen
There a number of changes we can make to help us live green and consequently help fight climate change while we are in the kitchen.
- Cup of tea? An electric kettle uses less energy than stove top boiling. Also, only boil the amount of water that you need.
- Use dishwashers wisely: Use the energy saver cycle on your dishwasher and only run it when full. Open the door to 'air dry' dishes economically. Hand washing dishes with a lot of hot water can cost more than using a dishwasher.
- Defrost freezers and manual-defrost refrigerators regularly - they'll work more efficiently.
- Put cold items back in the fridge immediately after use: Cooling a two litre bottle of drink from room temperature generates ten times as much greenhouse gas as opening the fridge door.
- Put a lid on it: When stove top cooking, use lids on pots and pans to reduce heating time.
- Size matters: On the stove, use a pot sized for the food, and not a larger one. For example: Boiling eggs - you may be using more energy to boil more water, when a small pot would be sufficient.
- Microwave ovens use 75 percent less energy than range ovens.
- Go vegetarian: Cows are a major producer of the greenhouse gas methane.
- Buy local goods: Transporting food and other household goods increases greenhouse emissions.
Green Living in The Laundry
By living green in the laundry you can save water as well as energy.
- Front load washers use less energy and water than top loaders.
- Use cold water instead of hot to wash clothes
- Load up: Wait until you have a full load before using the washing machine.
- Air dry clothes on an outside line or indoor drying rack instead of using a dryer.
- If you must use a dryer remember: Dry clothes only as long as required; you could be using 30 minutes to dry a load that really only needs 15 minutes. Clean the dryer lint filter before every load.
Saving Water in The Bathroom
As heating water uses energy, reducing the amount of hot water used when we are in the bathroom will reduce energy use and help fight climate change.
- Take shorter showers. (Or shower with a friend.) Install a timer so you can see how long you are spending in the shower.
- Install low-flow shower heads to use less hot water.
- Take showers instead of baths: A shower typically uses half the energy of a shower and saves water too.
- Turn off your hot water heater before going on holiday.
- Size matters: If replacing a hot water tank, consider a smaller one. You will be less likely to be heating water you don't need.
- Go solar: If you live in an area with a lot of natural sunlight, make use of this free, carbon neutral energy and install a solar hot water system.
- Clothe your hot water tank with an insulated tank 'blanket', they can reduce heat loss by 18 percent. Note: These are not recommended for oil or gas fired heaters, and should only be used on electric hot water tanks.
- Turn it down: If your hot water heater has a temperature setting, lower it slightly.
- Repair leaky taps quickly, especially hot water taps. A leaking tap can waste 20 litres of water a day.
- Clean your shower head periodically; scaling and sediment can collect and reduce water flow, using more hot water than needed.
Heating and Cooling Tips for Living Green
Staying comfortable need not involve huge energy usage is you adopt some of the green living tips below.
- Close the blinds on a hot day if the sun is shining in. Dress lightly instead of turning up the air conditioning.
- In winter, open shades to let the sunlight to help warm rooms.
- Dress warmly when it’s cold, instead of turning up the heat. Every degree can save up to five percent in heating costs.
- Turn down the heat while you’re sleeping at night or away during the day, and keep temperatures moderate at all times. Setting your thermostat just two degrees lower in winter and higher in summer could save about 1,000 kgs of carbon dioxide each year.
- Plant trees around your house to cut cooling costs in summer. Trees provide shade cooling for your house and can help shade exterior air-conditioning units so they'll use less energy. They also protect from drafts and winds during the winter.
- Insulate your walls and ceilings. Install a light-colored or reflective roof. Caulk and weather strip around doors and windows.
- Clean or replace air filters on air conditioners. Not only will this improve efficiency, but it will also help allergy sufferers.
- Turn off bathroom and kitchen fans when no longer required; they are pulling the heat or coolness from the house.
- Seal the chimney flue of a fireplace that is never used. This will keep heat from going up the chimney.
- Use a fan or open a window to generate a cool breeze instead of using an airconditioner.
- Sleep well: Turn electric blankets on just prior to bedtime, then turn off when going to bed - as opposed to having them on all night.