Tips for Eco Friendly Homes

Ever wonder if features from Eco Friendly Homes could be incorporated into your existing home? There are many ways you can make your existing home more eco friendly. Simple and inexpensive fixes can allow you to save energy, reduce your water consumption, reduce the toxicity in your home and save money.

To reduce your heating costs and the need to reduce the need to heat your home you need to improve its insulation value. Consider an energy audit to pinpoint the areas of your home that need the most upgrading in terms of insulation. Perhaps you need better windows, more insulation in the attic, weather stripping around the front door, or the windows.

CFC light bulbs use a fraction of the energy used to light an incandescent bulb. These bulbs last much longer, offsetting their initial investment.  Alternatively become vigilant about reducing the number of lights you turn on. Enforce the rule of keeping lights on only when you are in that room.

When you replace older appliances, buy energy efficient alternatives. There are a few tricks you can do to help you use less energy. Old fridges are a huge energy consumer. It helps to keep the coils at the back of the fridge clear of dust and to turn down the cool rating. Many regions support the replacement of old fridges with more efficient appliances. In some areas you can have your old fridge picked up free of charge and receive a rebate on a new fridge.
Another appliance that consumes a lot of energy is the clothes dryer. While several appliances have made head-ways in their energy consumption, a dryer's consumption has remained the same. Appliance experts will tell you that there is no such thing as an energy efficient dryer. The only way you can reduce your energy consumption when it comes to drying clothes is to hang your clothes.

Eco friendly homes incorporate many water saving features, including water saving appliances such as low flow toilets and water efficient washing machines and dishwashers. Front loading washers typically use a third of the water consumption of top loading washers.

A simple and economical way to reduce water consumption is to install a dual flush kit on an existing toilet. These inexpensive kits convert a regular toilet to a dual flush toilet. You can chose the amount of water to flush, high or low, depending on your needs. Low flow shower heads are also inexpensive and easy to install.

Eco friendly homes also incorporate green interior design. Features include low VOC paints, carpets made of natural or recycled materials or flooring made with sustainably harvested woods or bamboo, which is a favored renewable resource.

The Home Depot has designed a eco product guide, products fitting their eco rating criteria and the criteria of recognized non-government agencies hold the Eco Product label.