Eco-Friendly Living: Simple, Practical Tips to Make Your Home Eco-Friendly

Homes are a place for relaxation. We seek comfort, privacy, warmth and protection from our homes. We like to unwind and relax ourselves after a tiring day at work. Our homes provide us with peace of mind, away from the noise and hustle-bustle of the outside world.

For this reason, people want to have all kinds of facilities in their homes. They want their homes to look beautiful and have all the comforts and facilities that technology can bring them. However we must not forget the environment and the impact we have on it due to our lifestyle.

We should try to have homes which are environment friendly. Excessive use of technology may provide us with temporary comforts but may adversely impact the environment. I am not against the use of technology in homes. By all means, make best possible use of it, but try to stay away from excesses.

For this reason we should try to develop and live in green homes. Green home is a type of house which is environment friendly. This means that green homes do not harm the environment. Green home, eco-friendly, environment friendly or nature-friendly homes all mean the same thing.

More and more people are trying to build eco-friendly homes due to rising awareness against pollution and other environmental hazards that modern living is causing. The popularity of green homes is on the rise also because of the fact that green technologies are becoming more and more affordable and accessible to the common man.

There are many simple things you can do to make your own home eco-friendly. The most basic thing you can do is to plant more trees. If you have a large ground in your house, make best use of it to plant trees abundantly.

What trees would you plant? The answer to this question would depend on a lot of factors like the climate of your place among other things. You may even grow different plants in different seasons. During warm seasons you may go for cucumber or tomato plants as these are warm season vegetables. During the colder months you may go for crops like lettuce, broccoli, carrots etc.

Harnessing Solar Power
Other things you can do to make your house eco-friendly is to install solar lights wherever possible, like in the driveway, garage, patio etc. Solar lights get energy from the sun and thus can help you save on your electricity bills.

As you know solar energy is free for all. If you install solar panels in your home and try to generate as much electricity for your home needs as possible from solar energy, you can end up paying far less electricity bills than what you are used to paying now.

The initial cost of installing solar panels might be a little high, but the cost is decreasing day by day as we make more progress with utilizing natural resources for our energy needs. You may get incentives, discounts, tax redemption and other facilities from the government if you plan to install solar panels. Try to find out what kind of benefit plans the government in your area is offering for installing solar panels. If you are in Brisbane area, then you may check out this site for Brisbane solar panels installation.

If you install solar panel and are able to produce excess power that is more than your personal requirements, you may be able to sell it to a local utility company and thus make some money. In a few years time, a lot of houses around the world may start using solar power for their energy needs.

There are other sources of renewable, green energy besides solar power. Windmills to harness wind energy is another alternative but it may not be practical for small or medium sized homes as large space is required to install many windmills in order to generate sufficient amount of power.

Reducing Energy Wastage
Green homes are mainly focused on efficient energy usage and less wastage. So you not only have to think about generating energy through natural ways, but also worry about using as less energy as possible without compromising on your necessities. One of the things you can do towards this end is to install lot of windows in strategic locations in your home to let fresh air and natural lighting come inside.

Doing so would mean you won't have to use much artificial lighting in your home as you allow lot of natural light from outside due to the presence of well-planned windows. You may use transparent windows to let more natural light into your house. A smart idea to save more electricity is to install mirror and glasses in your living room and other places so that they reflect or refract light, making the room appear brighter and more spacious.

Anyways, no matter how good your windows setup may be,  you may need to use artificial lighting at night. It is advisable to use flourescent lights as they prevent the emission of dangerous greenhouse gases. Furthermore, these lights are highly energy-efficient, helping you save money on your power bills.

Using recycled water for lawns is another simple thing you can do to minimize wastage of an important natural resource like water. Wherever possible try to re-use and recycle items in order to minimize wastage. Materials like aluminium and iron are limited and their supply may eventually run out. If we want to make these important metals last longer then we should get into the habit of recycling and reusing.

Minimize the use of paper as much as you can as lot of wood is needed to produce paper. Even though supply of wood can be replenished, it is not so easy as trees take a long time to grow. Hence paper also needs to be recycled. Take care not to waste even a simple thing as a piece of paper if you truly care about the earth's environment and the lives of people living on this planet!

Conclusion
So if you have decided to choose a greener lifestyle, then I applaud your decision. It is a wise and morally sound decision as the environment has been severely contaminated and polluted by human efforts in the last 100 or so years. People are now becoming more and more aware of their responsibility towards the protection of the environment. There are many NGO organizations, and even the government is with you. If all of us can do our small bit, it may hopefully lead to drastic improvements in the near future.