So, you’ve finally decided to live a more eco-friendly life and want to leave a smaller footprint in everything you do. The consumerist society that you grew up with just no longer makes sense and you’ve developed a keener sense of affinity with Nature. However, you are unsure where to start living this new earth-conscious lifestyle. Please read on and learn about four simple ways to help Mother Earth.
1. Use Solar Panels
One of the most basic ways to convert your home into an eco-friendly have is to install and use solar panels. A solar panel allows photons or particles of light to be absorbed and stored on what are photovoltaic cells. The photos separate electrons from atoms, which then generates electricity.To put it more simply, these panels convert sunlight into usable power inside the house.
Depending on the capacity of the panels you install, one can use the stored energy to run heaters, indoor lighting, television and radio, and just about any electrical appliance or device. Through net metering and solar power storage technology, you can still use solar power even at night.
In fact, even celebrities use and promote solar panels,such as former James Bond actor and famous Irish thespian Pierce Brosnanwho swears by its effectiveness. His large mansion in Los Angeles runs on solar power energy. Even his compost heap is connected to solar cells. He is so committed to sustainability that his home has sensors to detect if a room is vacant, after which the lights are turned off automatically.
2. Energy-Efficient Lights
Aside from using solar power for energy, having an eco-friendly home also entails common sense upkeep of the yard. For example, some homes need a good visit from a professional treetrimmer who can make sure outgrowth of leaves and dead branches are removed. Most of the time, the outgrowth of leaves casts a dark shadow during daytime and provides shade, which is good for a sunny day. However, there are times that the very same outgrowth makes an area dark by blocking street lights at night. Maintenance of tree lines also allows for a more free flow of air around your property.
A more technical way is to install light-emitting diode (LED) lights which are definitely more energy-efficient. These LED lights are about 80 percent more efficient than the traditional fluorescent and incandescent bulbs and lamps. Only about five percent of the LED light is waste while the rest is converted into functional illumination.
3. Save Water
One of the best ways to live an eco-friendly lifestyle is to conserve water.Installing a low-flow head shower sprinkler or flow restrictors which saves hundreds of liters of water every month for an average family of four. During the rainy season, having a rainwater catch basin will enable you to use that water for flushing toilets or cleaning outdoor floor areas. Do not forget to fix all leaking faucets to ensure that no clean running water goes to waste. Another simple yet effective water-saving practice is to use a glass of water when brushing your teeth instead of leaving the faucet turned on.
4. Buy Eco-Friendly Household Products
Cleaning our homes is important for overall sanitation. However, using harsh chemicals can be harmful to people and to the environment. For example, using strong bleach during laundry will eventually make these chemicals flow into our drainage systems. If these drainage systems are not connected to a water treatment facility, the same chemical could flow back to rivers and seas. If this happens, the cleaning products we use will be the same products that would kill fish and other living things in our bodies of water.
To avoid this deplorable scenario, consider using only safe, natural, or organic household cleaning products that are as effective as the chemical agents but definitely not destructive to humans and the environment. This principle can be applied to our choice of shampoos, soaps, and toothpaste. There are already many sustainable, green personal care and household products in the market that people can buy.
Living Green Matters
Living in an eco-friendly home is ultimately about caring for our environment, the same space where we live, work, and have fun, By taking care of the environment, we also take good care of ourselves and those that will come after us in the next generation. When we choose to have a “green lifestyle”, we also promote our health and well-being as well as the welfare of other living things with whom we share this planet.
