Many people are becoming more conscientious about their personal carbon footprint. Because of this, home owners are looking in to a variety of ways to reduce the carbon footprint of their homes. Everyone can do their part to help improve our environment. So, what are four ways that this goal can be realistically achieved?
- Install Solar Panels
- Conduct an Environmental Site Assessment
- Upgrade Your Appliances
- Install LED Lighting
Install Solar Panels
One of the biggest indirect causes of greenhouse gas emissions in your home is the use of electricity. This is because fossil fuels are typically burned at power generation plants to create the electricity that is then transmitted through power lines all the way to your home. By installing solar panels, you do not need as much, if any, of this electricity which reduces your carbon footprint. This is because your new source of power is the sun which has no associated emissions. Solar panels, although initially pricey, will also save you money in the long run. Overall, they will be worth the investment.
Conduct an Environmental Site Assessment
While there is much to be done within your home to ensure that your carbon footprint is lowered, many fail to realize that many of the environmental contaminants that can harm the earth are actually located outside of your home. These include things such as storage tanks, cars, and other chemicals that you may keep outside of the home but are still very harmful to the environment. In Phoenix, AZ Phase 1 ESA’s can be conducted to ensure that your home sits on land that is clean and that your home is not leaking any harmful materials such as petroleum products from natural gas storage tanks. If you are building a home, make sure you are aware of this before you even begin the building process. It could save a lot of trouble and money down the road.
Upgrade Your Appliances
One of the biggest consumers of electricity in your home are appliances. To help reduce your carbon footprint without giving up these appliances, it makes sense to upgrade old appliances to EnergyStar rated appliances. This way, you still get all of the benefits without using as much energy and reducing your carbon footprint. Your old appliances could be using a lot of unnecessary energy. Be a responsible home owner by replacing them to do your part.
Install LED Lighting
Another big consumer of electricity in your home are lights. LED lighting offers homeowners the same, if not better, quality lighting while using much less energy. Additionally, LED lights last much longer than typical lighting and thus is more cost effective over time which will save you and your family money through lower energy bills and less frequent replacements. Strategic placement of your lighting can help as well. With the right placement, you will use less lighting and save energy use that way.
Reducing the global carbon footprint starts with each individual. By reducing the carbon footprint of individual homes, we are all well on our way to a greener and more sustainable tomorrow.
