Being more eco-friendly is something that we could all aim to improve in 2021. While it sounds like a hard thing to achieve there are some quite simple changes that you can make to your home.
Swap to LED bulbs
One of the first changes that you can make is switching to LED bulbs. There are many benefits of LED bulbs compared to normal incandescent bulbs. The main one being that they use a lot less energy than a classic bulb. You will be using less electricity meaning that your home is becoming more eco-friendly. LEDs can also result in an energy saving of up to £170 a year, which is a great bonus!
Replace your old boiler
Replacing your old boiler can be one of the biggest eco-friendly changes you can make to your home. This is due to how inefficient boilers older than 10 years are. With many only being rated as low as 60% efficiency, meaning that 40% of energy is being lost or used to run itself. Modern boilers however are often rated at around 90% energy efficiency, meaning only 10% of energy is getting lost or being used to power your boiler. Making your heating system a lot more energy efficient!
When it comes to replacing your boiler, you will first need to see which type of boiler you have and then choose a boiler brand whose boilers you like. Choosing a boiler brand can be quite difficult, as there are a range of them out there. However, some of the most popular and reliable are Vaillant Boilers, Ideal Boilers, Worcester Bosch boilers and Heatline Boilers. When it comes to installation make sure you use a gas safe engineer.
Use a smart thermostat
A smart thermostat is a great upgrade compared to your old manual one. This is due to the added control that you have over your home’s heating. With a smart thermostat, you can set up a heating schedule in the companion app. This heating schedule will allow you to set when your boiler is working and at what temperature. Most smart thermostats will also have a pre-programmed eco setting, meaning all you will have to do is set your thermostat to this setting and you are away!
Wash your clothing in cold water
Changing to cold water from your usual 30 or 40-degree wash can make a huge difference! Washing machines are one of the most used appliances in our homes, being used around 250 cycles a year. What makes a washing machine so un eco-friendly is the amount of energy it uses to heat up the hot water, which is around 80%. By washing on a cold water setting, you are skipping this step and saving around 80% of energy usage. Washing in cold water can make your clothes last longer and stay brighter due to the fabric not being broken down by hot water.
Avoid using the tumble dryer
Tumble dryers are often a go-to now due to either lack of space or lack of time to dry clothing. However, air-drying your clothing really can make a difference in how eco-friendly your home is. A tumble dryer creates a huge amount of carbon dioxide due to the amount of electricity that is needed to power most models. Using electricity instead of gas to generate heat is what causes all this CO2. Instead, when you can, dry your clothes using a washing line or a drying rack using the sun or warm air to dry your clothes out. Not only are you helping the planet, but your clothing will last longer being air-dried.
Start reducing water usage
Water usage is also a major part of becoming eco-friendly. Fixing any leaks, you may have in your pipes or on your taps is the best start that you can make. Swapping out your power shower for a water-efficient showerhead` is also a great choice that you can make. Swapping to a water-efficient showerhead could be saving you up to 25 litres of water per shower, which is a huge amount of water saved! It can also be saving you some money on not having to heat up as much water, meaning that you will be saving both the planet and some cash!
Do not leave devices on standby
Finally, leaving your electronic devices on standby. Leaving devices on standby and not totally turning them off, or even unplugging them, causes a huge amount of wasted energy a year! As much as 15% of the electricity a home uses a year goes into powering these standby devices. By turning your devices off standby you would be saving that little bit extra energy and reducing your carbon footprint, making your home eco-friendlier.
Following through these 7 tips gives you a great start to making your home eco-friendlier for 2021! There are lots more improvements that you can make, so make sure you carry on with your own research and become as eco-friendly as possible!