Climate change is perhaps the most pressing issue facing our species – its impact is already being felt across the world. Therefore, it’s unsurprising that people are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint.
And very often, the best way to do this is through modifying our home.
With this in mind, we provide three straightforward suggestions for achieving this aim.
How to Modify Your Home to Reduce the Carbon Footprint of the Building?
1. Install solar panels
Almost always, solar panels will help homeowners, companies and the planet equally – making them a highly popular investment today. Put simply, solar panels work by converting the sunlight into electrical power, which is then used by the house to lower energy bills and its carbon footprint.
Energy that isn’t used is sent to the National Grid (or the national equivalent for those living outside the UK). If panels don’t generate enough power, electricity will be sourced by the grid instead.
Similarly, Brits whose homes produce a surplus of energy can sell it back to the National Grid.
Despite their name, solar panels don’t require direct sunlight to generate power; they also work (with reduced capacity) in cloudy or rainy weather. This is the reason why solar panels can be used throughout the year for clean energy generation.
2. Insulate walls and lofts
Insulation is a feature in most British homes – and it’s fairly obvious why. Its name describes its main function: insulation reduces the flow of air (entering or leaving the house). As a result, less heat escapes from an insulated building, which helps homeowners save money on electricity and heating bills during the winter.
The majority of UK homes are powered by fossil fuels – and so, insulation tends to be advantageous for the planet. When fossil fuels are burned, they emit greenhouse gases, which then traps heat in the upper atmosphere. This, of course, contributes to the greenhouse effect which leads to global warming.
People looking to insulate their homes, therefore, stand to massively reduce their carbon footprint. And this, of course, is advantageous both for them and the planet, because the majority of UK living spaces run even today on energy generated by fossil fuels.
3. Switch the energy provider
Most often, the best way homeowners can reduce their carbon footprint is through switching to a green energy provider. Due to mounting concerns over global warming, green energy tariffs have become more popular.
In particular, there are a number of suppliers that contribute customers’ money to environmental schemes, doubling each client’s positive impact on the planet. Over the last quarter, renewable energy sources generated more electricity to UK homes and businesses than fossil fuel, according to recent research. It seems that eco-friendly home improvements are going mainstream.
Cost-effective Living
An eco-friendly home can do more than only help the planet – it usually proves to be more cost effective for homeowners, too. Given the positive effect that is likely to have, you may want to think about modifying your home.
Plan how you’ll lower the carbon footprint of your building in advance, and you’ll have plenty of time to work out spending options and whether you’ll be able to cover the costs or will need to consider financial help.
Very often, all it takes is a few simple changes to make your home more eco-friendly.
Final thoughts
Follow the above suggestions to improve your home, and you may be able to achieve this much easier than you thought.
