Today, building an energy-efficient home means relying on technology and equipment that work through automation and apps that can be controlled remotely. Thus, let us stop doing the same thing over and over again and go the green route.
Increase Shaded Areas
If you are looking to reduce your monthly electricity bill, increasing the amount of shade around your home, which usually gets exposed to the sun, can decrease the amount of heat. Planting a shade tree in your yard, whether your home is in Salt Lake City or you have a sprawling yard, having a tree in your yard will serve as more than just an aesthetic element in your yard. It can also serve as an excellent source of shade. If you already have a thriving garden, adding a tree to the mix and placing it near the windows or sunny areas of your house will help cut cooling costs to as much as 30%.
Save Gray Water
Another household expense that can be reduced in a non-electronic way is water consumption. Although it requires installing water tanks to capture rainwater, the investment is well worth it. Gray water can be used for household cleaning tasks such as washing the laundry, house cleaning, and watering the garden. It can also be for toilet and bath use. Gray water is captured in tanks that are designed to collect rainwater for different purposes. This reduces a household’s dependency on the mains as it can be integrated with the existing water supply setup. It allows a household to cut down on water consumption while maintaining the convenience of a steady water supply as usual. Using rainwater for cleaning reduces the amount of detergent or cleaning agents needed, leaves no scaling on surfaces, and rinses easily as well.
Go for Reusable Items
Last but not least, switching to reusable items can dramatically reduce the amount of waste production from your household. Sorting trash is a great way to start becoming aware of the amount of waste that your household is producing on a daily basis. This will help determine which items from your home commonly go into the bin, especially single-use items and plasticware. Food and beverage containers made of glass or food-grade reusable containers are easier to clean, thus reducing the amount of dishwashing products and water consumption in the process of cleaning them. These containers can also be used in the microwave, so heating food is also made easy and quick. As a result, it reduces gas or electricity consumption in the process.
These three energy efficiency solutions are under-explored and usually overlooked. Still, these solutions do not only help you cut down on major household utilities, but they also provide you with an eco-friendly way to create an energy-efficient home with very minimal maintenance costs involved. Therefore, the next time you look to reduce your bills and increase energy efficiency in your home, look no further and include these three items on your list of must-dos for your home.
