The green home improvement movement is very strong these days. It seems that no matter which direction you look, you’ll find some new article being written about it. Some of the articles are written by people that are very gung-ho about ecologically friendly home improvement. There is nothing wrong with that. However, you need to remember that the main purpose of DIY is the creation of projects such that you can save money in the process. This is the main purpose of the project and for that reason you should try to include green strategies where they are in common with the money-saving strategies rather than at odds with them.
An example of a green home improvement project that would be in common with a money-saving DIY strategy would be the replacement of incandescent light bulbs in your house. These light bulbs are the classic ones that people have been using for many years now. While they are certainly cheaper in the short term, they are less efficient with both energy and heat and therefore are far more expensive over the long term. If you replaced those light bulbs with ones that were fluorescent or had other forms of lighting, what you would very quickly discover is that you would save money both on energy and on the purchase of light bulbs since the new ones would last longer due to the better efficiency.
However, not all green home improvement projects are going to show these types of financial gains. Things like windmill, geothermal and solar panel installation, while certainly great investments for the long term, are nevertheless not the greatest short term or money-saving investments that you could make. In fact, with the technology still in the process of being developed in a big way, you could very well lose money on the first generation solar and wind installations that you do. This is less likely with the geothermal earth energy options, but those usually require huge up front funds. Keep in mind as well that many of these green projects are not really suitable for DIY, forcing you to spend even more money if you want them to take place.
This is not to disparage the green home improvement movement. In fact, we applaud anyone that cares enough about the Earth in order to actually go out and do something about it in home improvement terms. But as someone that is turning to DIY in an attempt to save money during a recession, it would be remiss of us not to point out that going for some of the green projects would essentially wipe out any financial gains you felt from the rest of your DIY projects. Therefore, you should seriously consider avoiding many of these projects until after the recessionary times have passed.
If you feel conflicted about the green home improvement projects mentioned above, you can rest assured that you are not alone. Lots of debate about the merits versus costs of installing these types of equipment during a recession can be found on the internet. We have given you our view, but in the end the only one that matters is yours.
Photo Credits: Hitchster
Related Posts -
Some Good Home Improvement Advice There are many points of view from which you can take a look at home improvement advice. When we discuss the different home improvement options, our tendency is to do so from the point of view of most of the people that become handy-capable around the house. That point of...... -
The Complete Home Improvement Perspective There are lots of people these days that consider themselves good handy people. These people are fond of bragging about their complete home improvement skills and all of the projects they have managed to put together. If you are listening to some of these people, you may just be tempted...... -
Judging the Home Improvement Cost of a Project One thing that you need to be aware of when it comes to dealing with home improvement is cost. You need to understand the home improvement cost of any project that you are doing because understanding this cost is integral to making sure that you are able to create a...... -
The Benefits of using CFL Lighting 25 percent of a regular home electrical budget is sadly spent only on lighting as a result of using incandescent style light bulbs, which are wholly inefficient. Typical light bulbs can cost between 5 and 10 times their own cost in electricity despite their relatively short period of life. However,...... -
Using a Home Improvement Video to Guide Your Project Home improvement handymen these days get a lot of their information from the internet. There is nothing wrong with this as there are many sites just like this one that exists to provide people with useful information on the different aspects of home improvement. However, one thing that you need......
Related Websites -
Your Money or Your Life Review Your Money or Your Life is not your average personal finance book. Weighing in at nearly 400 pages (including the prologue and epilogue), this selection seemed to be a "heavy" read. To the contrary, I found the book easy to work through, and extremely insightful and motivating. In fact, I'd...... -
Link hopping: Home improvement & energy saving changes edition It's taken quite a few years to get our house looking more like we want it. We've been actively working at ways to save energy in the process. One of the changes that we made that had the most immediate noticeable effect was switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs)....... - DIY Wind Power - Enjoy Time Tested Savings by Wendy Hamilton In light of the fact that you found this article you are no doubt serious about employing DIY wind power to provide electricity for your home. The wind is a natural occurring phenomena which is actually created by the sun. Residential wind turbines have become incredibly popular......
-
Personal Finance Equations You Should Know: the Savings per Month Ratio We've all heard our parents say over and over again that we're supposed to save 10% of our paycheck, but now that you're all grown up, have you actually taken the time to calculate just how much of your monthly income -- if any -- that you're actually saving? Even...... - Three homes where green living flourishes This is a great article about people that are taking the necessary steps to green their homes and their lifestyles. Be sure to read the whole article, its really informative! "Even though we've all heard buzz about energy conservation, it may be the stylish new brand of conscientious consumer who's......
- Incandescent Light Bulbs Home Lighting
- Fluorescent Light Bulbs Home Lighting
- Chargers Inverters Alternative Solar Energy Electrical Solar Home Improvement
- Sylvania Light Bulbs Home Lighting
- Specialty Light Bulbs Home Lighting
Categories:
Green Tips, Handy Man
Tags:
0 comments ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Leave a Comment