Taking steps to live a greener lifestyle at home not only can help protect the environment, but it can improve the comfort ain your home and help save money, too.
According to a study conducted by the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI), 41 percent of Americans want to buy green products for their home. Strategic home feature upgrades and smart habits can help save on utility bills, reduce your water and carbon footprints, and potentially benefit your budget long term.
We all have found ourselves with a little more time at home recently and may have time for some small DIY projects. Fortunately, green home improvements don’t have to be difficult. Here are five ideas to make your home more sustainable and help save money:
1. Install a rain water barrel
Watering a lawn and garden is essential to the health of the landscape, but running water for hours at a time can be costly and unsustainable. One alternative is investing in a rain barrel. A rain barrel can be purchased at a reasonable price and stores rain water to use later when watering your landscape. Some cities and counties even offer discounted rain barrels to residents to encourage water conservation, so call your local municipality to learn about potential options.
2. Use a programmable thermostat
A programmable thermostat works by automatically raising or lowering the temperature in your house based on your selected settings to keep it comfortable when you’re home and save energy when you’re not. Smart thermostats are enhanced versions of programmable thermostats that can learn your habits and be controlled remotely from an app. With either option, you could potentially save as much as 10 percent a year on heating and cooling by simply turning your thermostat back 7-10 degrees for 8 hours a day from its normal setting, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.