How to Make Your Home Greener

How to Be More Sustainable at Home

Whether you’re trying to save money on the bills, make a difference to the planet, or make your older property a bit more modern, many of us are looking at ways we can make our home greener.

While some solutions can be pricey and give you longer-term savings, there are some simple tasks you can undertake too. New build houses may now have to follow certain eco credentials, but retrofitting our existing properties could actually enable a huge positive impact.

Doing this work often falls on the property owner or resident, so here are some ideas on how to boost your home's sustainability.

 

What makes a sustainable home?

Sustainability can mean something different to each individual. For some, it means making an eco-friendly home for the planet. For others, it’s trying to choose greener options to keep bills low or avoid waste and a throwaway culture.

Generally, a fully sustainable home should follow five rules:

1. Ensure optimum energy efficiency
2. Make use of natural materials
3. Reuse materials where possible and avoid waste
4. Take a ‘fabric first’ approach, choosing sustainable solutions from conception
5. Use few environmental toxins and lower your carbon footprint

 

5 tips: how to have a greener home

There are many easy ways to make your home more sustainable, without carrying out major renovations or spending thousands.

While some longer-term solutions, such as improving your insulation and glazing on windows or installing a brand-new boiler, can have a huge impact, below are some 5 easy DIY options.

Remember when DIYing that you have to wear PPE. Gloves, eye protection, and a dust mask are all key depending on the work you’re doing. All required PPE can be purchased from Speedy Hire.

 

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1. Choose log burner alternatives

Log burners can look cosy, and can give out a powerful amount of heat, but they aren’t great for the planet.

They give out high amounts of toxic air pollution, and obviously reduce the number of trees in the world, without giving anything back.

Instead of installing a log burner in your home, ensure your central heating works sufficiently for the space. New radiators which aren’t blocked by furniture are key, and you can hire electric portable heaters if you need a boost in the coldest months.

 

2.  Reuse what you have

Whether it is furniture, décor, or even masonry such as bricks, reusing what you have in the home rather than buying new cannot only save you some money but can also help reduce your carbon footprint. Less is going to the tip, and instead, it has a longer life span.

Some ideas of how to use what you already have include:

• Painting kitchen cabinets
• Painting IKEA furniture
• Building a wall with old brick

So, you can still change your décor without wasting what you already have.

If there’s anything which really has outgrown your home, see if anyone else can make use of it, or upcycle it instead.

 

3. Use low-VOC paint

Low VOC paints use less Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) than regular paints. VOCs are chemical compounds which can be harmful to the environment and your health.

These compounds can be released years after the paint has even gone on your walls. To reduce your risk, choose low VOC, which is now readily available in hardware stores.

Using a paint sprayer can help get the job done quicker, too.

 

4. Upgrade your insulation

Insulating your walls with cavity wall insulation, and having double glazing at the very least, are two big—but pricier—options. If you can, get these done.

But there’s plenty you can do in the meantime, as well. Check for any draughts coming up through floorboards or skirting boards. If through the floor, use rugs and furniture to block the draught.

If coming from skirting boards, you may need to caulk around the skirting to seal any gaps.

Also check around windows and doors for draughts, using draught seal strips or draught excluders to block the cold air.

Be mindful of the curtains and blinds you use, which can keep in heat and keep out the cold as well. You can also insulate pipework, on boilers and mains taps.

• How to install a curtain pole
• How to fit a window blind

Lofts can lose a lot of heat, too. Insulating and boarding over your loft not only helps retain heat but can also give you some essential storage space to help your home feel less cluttered.

 

5. Choose eco tools

Whether putting up shelves with a drill, chasing your wall to hide cables, or just cutting your hedges, choose eco-friendly power tools.

Cordless tools are now readily available, which reduces emissions and can use renewable electricity to charge. Better for the planet, and your health. They can often perform just as well as their fuel counterparts if you need something with power behind it.

 

 

6. Hire the tools you need

Want to give things a go yourself? No worries. You can still use specialist tools, without paying for them as your own. Choose to hire, instead.

Whether you want to choose the latest eco-tools as above, or something with a bit more power, hiring is naturally a green choice. Speedy has thousands of tools and equipment available to hire when it suits you. When you’re done, off-hire them for the next DIYers to use.

This reduces the impact on the planet, keeps equipment well maintained so it can last its full lifetime, and also saves you money as you aren’t buying upfront. It can also keep your house tidier, as you don’t have to store all the equipment for months until you next use it (if ever).

 

Speedy has more than 200 local service centres across the nation, hire counters in selected B&Qs and nationwide 4-hour delivery. It has never been easier to hire the tools and equipment you need.

Just open a Speedy account online or on the app and browse our full range.