Installing Technologies that are "Green" or Eco Friendly

Because everyone is looking to save money right now, and as a result of the increased awareness on the need for us to make steps to save our environment, one of the best home improvements is to install green technology in your home, which is a process that is known as going green. There are a number of best home improvements that you can implement along this line of thinking including installing solar panels, installing power generating windmills, using cleaners that are environmentally friendly, heating options that are energy efficient and even simply light bulbs designed to save energy.

Installing Thermostats Capable of being Programmed

This is a very simple improvement which is what makes it one of the best home improvements that you can use. Installing a thermostat that is programmable is going to help you save money on your monthly electric bill by only turning the heat or the air condition on when the house temperature is too cold or too hot based on a specific temperature that you specify beforehand. This is going to save you money by preventing the AC system from running when it is unnecessary.

Re-Insulating Your Home

Your home should be well insulated if you want to spend money on your monthly electric bills. This is because a home that is well insulated is one of the best home improvements that you can achieve, and will keep cool air in during the summer and keeping warm air in during the winter. This will also make it harder for unwanted air to get in.

Painting or Decorating Your Living Space

This is one of the best home improvements despite being so simple. It is truly effective. Choose soothing colors and soothing accents when painting and redecorating your rooms and you will be able to relax and better take advantage of your home.

Installing a Patio

Another one of the best home improvements, but also the most expensive one, is to put in a patio or a deck in your yard. This is going to give you an opportunity to soak up the sun and relax in your backyard space and it will add a significant amount of value to your home as well.

No matter which of these best home improvements you decide to make use of, the payoff is going to be well worthwhile.

Photo Credits: luv is max

Originally posted 2009-09-18 12:02:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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To start with some easy steps you can take to green your home, a simple change of appliances can make a huge difference. Energy efficient appliances have come a long way and not only do they help the environment, but they also greatly cut down on your energy bills. The initial cost of buying brand new appliances, such as a washer and dryer or a refrigerator, can be high, but eventually you’ll make back what you spent with what you save on electricity. If you don’t have enough to buy brand new appliances, look into older models of energy efficient appliances. They will still use less energy than your current appliances but will cost less than buying them brand new.

Another possibility which you can either do yourself or hire someone to help you with is to replace your windows and doors. The materials of the windows and doors aren’t exactly environmentally friendly, but by replacing your old ones you will cut down on the energy use and thus green your home. Many new windows and doors have been designed so that they let light in without letting heat in, saving you money on cooling in the summer. They also are sturdy and don’t have leaks in them so the comfortable temperature stays in your home. The cost of materials isn’t too expensive so if you can do it yourself you will find it to be a rather cheap project. However, if you aren’t sure you can install them properly you should hire someone to do it for you despite the costs so you don’t lose the desired effect of keeping air in.

If you have been meaning to replace any of the floors in your house, you could use this time as an opportunity to green your home. Rather than getting carpeting or hardwood floors, you can use bamboo flooring instead. Bamboo is a renewable source that grows much faster than trees do so when you use it for your floors, you are saving a few trees. Bamboo flooring comes in a few different colors and resembles hardwood floors. It is also an inexpensive way to replace your floors since it can be cheaper than some of the wood flooring options available. This is another project that you can handle yourself if you know how to tear up your old floor because there are many do it yourself kits for bamboo flooring. Most flooring companies are well trained in laying down bamboo flooring and have it for an option if you’d feel safer hiring someone to do it.

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Photo Credits: moonlightbulb

Originally posted 2009-09-03 12:49:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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1 - Choose Energy Star appliances.

Engery Star Appliances are easier on the energy bill and more eco friendly over all.

2 - Unplug electrics and appliances when they are not being used.

Chargers keep using energy even when your electronics are not plugged into them. Unplug the coffee maker, the toaster and even your computer when not in use to save on energy and green your home at the same time.

3 - You can save heating and cooling energy by monitoring your thermostat from season to season.

For each degree below 68 during the cold weather, or above 78 during the warm weather, you can save between 3 and 5 percent of your heating and cooling energy, so use a programmable thermostat to make this even easier.

4 - Replace your light bulbs with CFLs as they burn out.

Compact Fluorescent Bulbs use 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent light bulbs, and they can also last as much as ten times longer. For every CFL bulb you use, you can save as much as $30 over the span of its lifetime.

5 - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Begin by reducing your consumption by purchasing less, and then you have less to worry about recycling. Once you reduce your consumption, the next step is to reuse what you do have. Reuse plastic containers, shopping bags and other trash items before you throw them away. Then take whatever is left and recycle as much as you can. Recycling goes beyond plastic bottles and aluminum cans. Call your local recycling center and find out what they can and cannot take before you consider throwing something away.

6 - Choose eco-friendly or green commercial cleaning supplies, or make your own.

Vinegar, for example, is a powerful cleaning agent, no ammonia or bleach needed! Consider making your own cleaning concoctions from kitchen-safe ingredients for the greenest household.

7 - Insulate your hot water heater and save some energy.

By placing an insulation jacket around your hot water heater, you can spend $10 or $20 dollars and save a significant amount of money over the lifetime of your water heater.

8 - Replace single pane windows with double pane windows.

This reduces heat loss in the winter months, and heat gain in the summer months. As an added bonus, you will also reduce noise pollution with windows like these as well.

9 - Purchase and use sustainable materials whenever possible.

You can easily use flooring materials that are sustainable like cork or bamboo, environmentally friendly wood for decking, and even green furniture in your home to have a greener home.

Photo Credit: 1

Originally posted 2008-12-22 05:41:19. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Green roofs fall into two general categories: intensive and extensive. Intensive green roofing has at least a foot of soil on the roof and can really sustain a garden. Several different plant species can grow on an intensive group at one time. But as you can imagine, the weight of a foot of soil requires special structural supports and braces. And this type of roof takes a lot of maintenance and upkeep. These are the rare form of green roofing.

Extensive roofs, on the other hand, are becoming more and more common as the world becomes more environmentally aware. On these roofs, the soil only needs to be a few inches deep, and typically only certain species of plants, usually sedums, are grown. The plants that are grown on extensive green roofing are hardy, hard-to-kill plants that can flourish under almost any conditions.

Benefits of Green Roofing

One of the benefits of a green roof is much less stormwater runoff. The roofing material beneath the protective layer and the soil is no longer exposed to sunlight, which breaks roofing down. This means you'll replace roofing materials less frequently, which saves you money and spares the landfill. A roof with growing vegetation stays cooler, which keeps the home a little cooler as well. It serves as an extra layer of insulation. Green roofing attracts birds and animals, giving them back some of their habitat that has been lost. In some parts of Europe, people even let goats graze on their roofs.

Do You Have to Weed and Mow Green Roofing?

If you're picturing yourself trying to balance on your roof while killing dandelions with a weed popper or pushing a mower, don't worry: the shallow soil inhibits weed growth, and sedums are the typical plant life, which only grow to a certain height.

The biggest problem with green roofing is the impracticality of installing one on an existing structure. Because the roof wasn't built to support the kind of weight that 3 or 4 inches of rain-soaked soil creates, the roof of a home would almost have to be rebuilt. Green roofing is also currently much more expensive than a traditional roof, and not many contractors have dealt with installing one.

Certain types of roofs like steeply pitched or oddly angled roofing also present challenges for retrofitting a green roof. A contractor or architect experienced with these roofs would need to carefully evaluate a structure before changes could be made. But if you're planning new construction and you can find an architect experienced with green roofing, it's one option to consider.

Photo Credits: eaallen

Originally posted 2009-09-24 06:54:40. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Boost the Efficiency of your Electricity - This one does not even require an investment. Instead, it requires that you replace your air filters every month or two, because as they grow dirtier they are going to grow less effective as well. Another way to boost the efficiency of your electricity as part of green home improvement is to turn electronics and appliances off when they are not being used so that you can save on your electric bill while helping out the environment at the same time.

Use CFL Light Bulbs - These are easy light bulbs and they are cheap despite lasting as much as four times as long as a traditional light bulb. CFL stands for Compact Fluorescent Lighting. You can easily buy these light bulbs in bulk when they are on sale, and simply swap out the older, more obsolete bulbs as they burn out, one by one by one. This doesn't seem like a huge step in the direction of green home improvement, but it has a larger impact than you may realize.

Use a Programmable Thermostat for the Greatest Level of Efficiency - When you are not home, why should you have the air conditioning or the heat cranking at its highest level? This is especially true when you realize that it is possible for you to program your thermostat so that it only cranks right before you get home, or while you are home for long periods of time. This will make sure that your home is comfortable when you are in it, but not when you are not. Make sure that you are programming your thermostat so that you are not wasting energy on something that you are not getting any benefit from.

Insulate your Water Pipes - Pipe jackets happen to be relatively cheap, they install in only 5 minutes and they can save you a lot of work with your hot water heater. Insulate at least five or ten feet of your hot water piping as it leads away from the hot water heater in your garage or basement and you will quickly and easily maximize its effectiveness and efficiency.

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Originally posted 2009-09-02 12:44:01. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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