Best Ways to Reduce Carbon Footprint of Your Home
Your carbon footprint can be measured as the quantity of greenhouse gases produced by you and what you do, which includes residential energy use, food, transportation, and the goods you consume. The average American’s yearly carbon footprint equates to 16 tons of pollution, which is one of the largest carbon footprint figures in the world.
Know Your Impact
A start to the best ways to reduce carbon footprint would be to calculate what the impact of your home currently is. There are free tools available online that can assist you in figuring out how much your home is contributing to carbon emissions, such as CarbonFootprint.com.
Aircon Upgrades
There are approximately 20% of US households with inefficient air conditioning, which costs them extra every year to keep their houses comfortable, sometimes quadrupling the cost versus a more efficient air conditioner. Updating these inefficient homes may save 8% of domestic electricity usage in the United States and prevent almost 52 tons of carbon emissions each year.
Lower the Cooling Load
You can also lessen the amount of work your air conditioner has to do by making certain changes to your home’s cooling load. Plant shade plants and trees, close window shades or curtains on the side of your house that catches the most sun during the day, and boost ventilation with portable fans or ceiling fans. Consider installing windows and doors that will insulate a bit better, and if you think about replacing your roof, go with cooling, reflective roofing.
Update Your Heating System
Replace your air filters regularly, ensure correct airflow, seal any leaks, and insulate your ductwork to make your heating system more efficient. Your boiler or furnace may need to be replaced with an Energy Star certified model if it is more than 15 years old.
Look Out for Power ‘Vampires’
Even while in standby mode, all of your electrical items you leave plugged in, like computers, mobile phone chargers, televisions, printers, and microwaves, are still drawing energy from the wall. When your devices are not being used, unplug them to save around 20% on your monthly power expenses.
Change to LEDs
LED lights consume 75% to 90% less power for the same brightness of light, and last 25 times as long as standard incandescent bulbs. The US Department of Energy claims that widespread LED adoption in homes may save the same yearly energy output as 44 big power plants by 2027.
Wash and Dry the Clever Way
Last year, 10 billion kilowatt-hours of power were consumed by Americans to wash clothes at home and then another 60 billion kilowatt-hours to dry them. Wash your clothing in cold water to save electricity, only washing full loads, or wherever possible, using your washing machine’s water-saving cycle feature. Instead of using the dryer, hang your garments to dry. You will not only save electricity, but your clothing will also smell wonderful and fresh.
Climate change has the potential to be catastrophic. The science is complicated, and there are still many unknowns when it comes to future consequences. While genuine solutions will need global action, the decisions you make now to reduce your personal environmental footprint will pave the way towards a sustainable tomorrow.
