The moment that you become a property owner, you are introduced to endless possibilities on how you can make your house a home. Whether you opt for refurbishing your property or make a few minor upgrades, one aspect that you should always keep in mind is whether your changes are helping towards lowering your carbon footprint. We should all be actively looking for ideas on how to make your home more energy-efficient, not only helping you to play a role in saving the planet, but also saving you a considerable amount of cash on your bills!
An Ampower Guide On How To Make Your Home More Energy Efficient
When it comes to boosting your efficiency around the home, it doesn’t necessarily mean cutting down on how long you spend watching your favourite programme and how often you relax in a bath. While these will help towards reducing how much energy you use, you will see a greater return in making changes to your property itself. So, to give you some ideas on where to begin, we have put together the following guide on the most effective ways that you can make your home more energy-efficient for the long run:
- Switch To An Electric Vehicle
- Install Solar Panels
- Use Smart Batteries To Your Advantage
- Opt For A Renewable Energy Plan
- Invest In Smart Power Strips
- Buy Energy Star Products
Switch To An Electric Vehicle
Although our guide is based on how to make your home more efficient, the journey should always begin with how you will alter your lifestyle to lower your carbon footprint. One of the most popular ways in which the public have started to take a ‘greener’ approach is to switch to an electric vehicle when its next time to replace their car. But what makes an electric vehicle more environmentally friendly? Well, petrol or diesel-fuelled cars are, in fact, one of the biggest contributors to global warming. This is because as you drive, the exhaust releases both carbon dioxide and other greenhouses gases into the air before being trapped in the atmosphere. Together with all of the other harmful gases emitted, this will cause the overall temperature of the earth to rise, therefore damaging the planet. As well as being released into the atmosphere, the pollution caused by cars also impacts the quality of our air, soil and water. These can lead to not only irritation and increased allergies but also health issues such as respiratory problems. You can find more information on the negative effects of cars on Blogging Junction.
Electric vehicles, on the other hand, are not fuelled by petrol or diesel and do not have a tailpipe, which means that they do not emit any carbon dioxide. The only slight form of pollution that an electric car will produce is from the tyres and brakes; however, this is far less than what would otherwise be produced when driving a conventional vehicle. They also come alongside a wealth of additional benefits such as being cheaper to run and maintain, as well as a quieter, often more enjoyable driving experience. Moreover, EV’s couldn’t be more convenient as they can be fuelled from the comfort of your home through an electric vehicle home charger. And even better, you are likely to be eligible for a government grant to cover your charging unit installation, which has been introduced in a bid to encourage the public to make the eco-friendly transition. If you are in the process of purchasing your first EV and require a charging point in your home, then please do not hesitate to contact the team here at Ampower. With a team of qualified installers on hand, we strive to make the installation of your unit as straightforward and quick as possible, minimising downtime to daily life.
Install Solar Panels
By far, one of the most effective ways to begin building a greener home is to install solar panels. While solar panels will be a significant investment initially, they will most definitely offer an excellent return in the future, particularly as you can begin cutting ties with the grid. Becoming energy independent through the use of solar panels will mean that you will eventually have no need to use fossil fuels and will instead, be only making use of renewable energy. Your home will be powered through only solar energy, which is not only available in an infinite supply but is also completely free, meaning that you will no longer have to worry about high bills through the post each month. By choosing only to use clean, pollutant-free energy; in return, you can reduce your carbon footprint by as much as 80% in just one year, according to The Renewable Energy Hub.
As well as reducing your impact on the environment, opting for installing solar panels, much like investing in an electric vehicle, will also help to contribute towards fewer air pollutants. Based on a US study carried out by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, an increase in the number of people that use solar energy will lead to a decrease in common health issues such as chronic bronchitis and cardiovascular problems. This makes for not only a healthier planet but also a healthier population. You can find more information on the benefits of solar panels for your home in our previous article!
Use Smart Batteries To Your Advantage
If you opt for installing solar panels, then a fantastic way to further your home efficiency is to pair your installation with a smart battery. A smart battery is an excellent device which allows you to store all of the excess solar energy that you have produced throughout the day. It means that instead of wasting any surplus power or having to sell it back to the grid, you can save it until you next need energy, for example, in the evening.
Ampower is proud to have teamed up with Moixa as an official partner, which means that along with solar panels, we can now offer our customers smart batteries. All batteries are cleverly integrated with GridShare software, which works towards continually assessing your energy usage habits before creating a charging plan based on your requirements. This allows you to optimise your solar power effectively while saving money in the long-run. For more details on this, or to get started with your installation, head over to our smart battery page!
Opt For A Renewable Energy Plan
For those who are eager to make their home more energy-efficient but are limited in terms of budget, why not consider switching your energy plan to a renewable alternative? Renewable energy is simply the power that has been generated through natural resources, hence why many call it ‘clean’ energy. The use of solar panels, as mentioned previously, is one of the main sources of renewable energy as it will continuously be replenished. Other examples of renewable energy include wind power, hydroelectricity and biomass fuels. Here at Ampower, we are on a mission to make both our home energy plans and home electricity plans 100% green, providing our customers with as much renewable energy as possible. This means that the moment that you switch to one of our bespoke plans, you will begin working towards lowering your carbon footprint and use of fossil fuels.
To ensure that you can have full control over your energy usage, a large percentage of our customers opt for making use of a programmable thermostat. Programmable thermostats are a super straightforward, yet useful tool which allows you to schedule when your central heating will turn on and off. For example, most choose to programme their central heating to turn on half an hour or so before they wake up in the morning, particularly during the winter, so it is cosy ready for when they begin their day. Best Advisor has put together a handy guide to the best thermostats in the UK for the year so far, which will give you some ideas on where to begin your search!
Invest In Smart Power Strips
Another affordable and super easy way that you can boost your efficiency is to invest in smart power strips for around the home. Many of us are guilty of leaving televisions, computer or games consoles on standby, but have you ever considered how much energy this is likely to be wasting? According to an article by The Green Age, leaving appliances on standby alone could be adding up to an extra 16% to your electricity bills. This means that not only are you paying additional money but also increasing your carbon footprint; both for no real purpose.
However, when using a smart power strip, you can have the reassurance that no energy will be wasted as it will automatically shut down power to a device the moment that it goes into standby mode. This means that whether you are venturing out for the day or heading to bed, you will never have to worry about electronics draining power from your home. There are several different types of power strips that you can choose from depending on your requirements with timer and remote options both available. Head over to NREL for a handy infographic on how to choose the right smart power strip for your home!
If you’re looking for more inspirations on the various energy-saving technology for your home, then our previous article includes seven great ideas!
Buy Energy Star Products
Next time that one of the essential appliances in your home breaks down, whether this may be the fridge, dishwasher or washing machine, we strongly recommend considering Energy Star products. Energy Star was established to provide consumers with a clear idea of how environmentally friendly their products were through assessing their efficiency. If the products meet strict criteria, they are then awarded an Energy Star label, meaning that not only will they save the consumer money but also help to protect the planet. The symbol which is printed onto the label has been approved by the government, which means that you can have peace of mind that you really are chosing the most efficient product for your home. You can find more information on all of the different product categories which have been assessed by Energy Star over on their website!
A Greener Home Is Only A Few Steps Away!
As we are all actively encouraged to take a greener approach to our lifestyle, there are now more ways than ever that you can build a more energy-efficient home. Whether you opt for transitioning over to producing your own clean energy or make small updates around the house, every contribution is guaranteed to make a difference in protecting the planet!