Making Your Home Go Green

Making the effort to go green is an important choice these days. Many consumers have finally become better educated about being green when it comes to the choices they make spending their money. Many homeowners now also make the conscious effort to live a greener lifestyle through efforts such as recycling.

So what about creating the ultimate in green homes? The best way to do so is to be sure you are making your home energy efficient. This could be the choices you make while building your home or what you use once already living in your green home. Here are some quick tips for having living space that is more environmentally friendly.

• Use natural light – If you are designing your home, make sure you plan your windows so that you can use as much natural light as possible. This can also help with heating but also leads to considering what windows to use.
• Triple pane windows – Double pane was the green way to go until triple pane came along. Triple pane windows will help cut down on heating and cooling expenses and even help with prevent discoloration from natural sun.
• Use compact fluorescent bulbs – Believe it or not, these light bulbs actually use just a fourth of what standard incandescent bulbs do. Not only that but their life span is about 10 times longer so you actually save money too.
• Keep it insulated – Now more than ever, people are realizing the importance of well insulated walls and attics. Make sure you conserve energy by keeping your walls and attic well insulated.
• Metal roofing – Metal roofing has become very popular for many reasons such as being durable but also because of the fact that it is more green. Metal roofs are basically completely recyclable but also help to better control the temperature in your home.
• Plan your yard – If you care about being green, you probably want to have lots of plants anyway. But think about the fact that plenty of large shade trees can help keep your home cooler in the summer in a more natural way.
• Think about your hot water – For one thing make sure your hot water is not set at too high a temperature. Simply make sure the choice you make is the most energy efficient one. A few dollars more up front means you can save in the long run.