Ten Tips for Making Your Vancouver Home Greener | Your ...

Greener by Anita Hart

Are you committed to sustainable living but unsure where to start? Here is a small guide for you with 10 tips for a healthier, more ecological, and happier home. And the best part? You don?t need to undertake any major remodelling or reconstruction. You just need to take tiny steps that will contribute to a better environment ? because being a good global citizen starts at our doorsteps.

1. Greener Appliances

Did you know that getting rid of the old refrigerator standing in your garage would save you $150 a year?

Electrical appliances such as a vacuum cleaner, food processor, refrigerator, or washing machine account for about 18 per cent of a typical home?s total energy bill, and the fridge is one of the biggest energy hogs because it?s switched on 365 days a year. You should change your appliances every 10 years at most and always look for the A++ or ?Energy Star? labelled models. These appliances use from 10 to 50 per cent less energy and water than standard models. According to the Energy Star site, if just one in ten homes used energy-efficient appliances, this would be equivalent to planting 1.7 million new acres of trees ? and that is a big change!

Now that you have a new, energy-efficient fridge, think a little about what you put inside. Living green and eating green should be everybody?s priority, so next time you go grocery shopping, pick apples that are not placed on a polystyrene tray and wrapped up in plastic so that you minimize waste. The best way to buy produce is to support your local community by buying food at farmers markets. You will get healthier groceries, support local farmers and producers (and the local economy), and save the planet from burning fossil fuels to get food to you from the other side of the planet.

2. Heating and Cooling

Did you know that almost half a home?s energy consumption is spent heating and cooling?

Shades by Daniel Hsia

Energy saving is the topic right now, but what more can we do except switching off the light and TV? Thermoregulation is the answer. If you?re planning to have a new house built, consult the building company about wall and roof insulation, as this is the best way to minimize energy waste. If you, on the other hand, live in a house that won?t be reconstructed any time soon, don?t worry. There is a way to lower your energy bill as well.

• Turn down the thermostat during winter and keep it higher in summer. Each degree below 20?C during cold weather and above 25?C during summer saves from 3 to 5 per cent of your heating energy. If you don?t own a programmable thermostat, it?s a good idea to invest in one, and it will do the work for you automatically.
• Clean the filter on your furnace at least once a month during the period of heavy use. The same rule as with electrical appliances applies here: if your furnace is older than 10 years, consider replacing it with a newer model. Today?s furnaces are about 25 per cent more efficient than they were in the 1990s. Once again, don?t forget to look for the A++ or ?Energy Star? label.
• Keeping your house cooler during summer months is easy and very cost-efficient with shades or blinds (hardwood or textile). This is a trick used in the Caribbean: you close them at around 10:00 A.M. and open them again at around 4:00 P.M. when the sun starts to set. You will be surprised how nice and cool your rooms will be, even without air conditioning.
• Replace your air conditioning with a ceiling fan. Moving air feels cooler, and perhaps with a fan running, you won?t even have to think about switching the air conditioning on.

3. Shut Off the Tap

Did you know that turning the water off when you brush your teeth will save 17 litres each time?

Tap by Rickard B

The ?save water, drink wine? rule won?t really work here ? sorry! Canadian households use excessive amounts of water every day, and most of the time it wouldn?t hurt us if we shut off the tap.

• Stop washing dishes under running water. Some people find it uncomfortable to shut off the water completely, soap the dishes, and then rinse them all at once. If this is your case, shut off the water as you go. You don?t need a waterfall in your sink.
• Install a low-flow toilet. They use only 7 litres per flush, compared to 15 litres per flush for pre-1994 models. If you have an older model, adjust your float valve to admit less water into the toilet?s tank.
• Behavioural changes are the cheapest and most effective techniques. Next time you decide to clean the driveway, use a broom instead of the garden hose. It can save you 364 litres of water!

4. Clean Green

Did you know that last year, cleaning products were responsible for nearly 10 per cent of all toxic exposures?

No one knows how toxic household cleaners and detergents really are because manufacturers don?t need to list ingredients. What seems like a great stain remover may actually be disastrous for the environment. Every personal care or cleaning product we use is flushed down with our water, and many times nature can?t deal with the harsh chemicals that were used. Given our obsession with clean homes, the amount of hazardous chemicals entering the soil and water is alarming.

Household cleaners were produced during World War II for the first time as a soap substitute. How did people keep their homes clean before? Surprisingly easily. They used mixtures of hot water and soap, vinegar, or baking soda. Such cleaning products are nature-friendly, wallet-friendly, and definitely the enemy of all stains. Have a look here for homemade cleaning product recipes.

5. See the Light

Did you know that on average we have our lamps switched on for 2.7 hour per day and 1,000 hours per year?

Lamps by Chris Corwin

Replacing old light bulbs hurts those who love the warm, soft, bright light of old-fashioned bulbs. Compact fluorescent lightbulbs replace old incandescent bulbs in most cases. They use 66 per cent less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and last up to 10 times longer. Replacing a 100-watt incandescent bulb with a 32-watt fluorescent can save $30 in energy costs over the life of the bulb. The only disadvantage is their design and their neon blue light that couldn?t be further from the soft yellow we?ve come to prefer.

However, there is a remedy for this problem as well. For those of you who still hesitate, try to replace a halogen light bulb with a new LED bulb and you?ll be surprised. Philips has made the most eco-friendly LED light bulb to date. The 3W Econic spotlight is a direct replacement for the ubiquitous 35W halogen bulb and claims to have the same light output. Try it and see for yourself that Philips wasn?t exaggerating. This is brighter than any other LED on market.

The most amazing thing about LED light bulbs is that they contain absolutely no hazardous materials, and that makes them safe for any room and convenient to recycle.

6. Tree-Free

Did you know that recycling a four-foot stack of newspapers saves the equivalent of one 12-metre fir tree?

Stack of newspapers by Cas

It?s surprising that our paper consumption is rising despite the fact that we use tablets instead of restaurant menus, read books on ereaders, and write emails instead of letters. Where is the all the paper going then? Packaging and junk mail. While the offices and corporations pay close attention to their paper usage levels and they use recycled paper for draft prints, high-quality paper is wasted elsewhere. If you receive tons of junk mail every week, try to unsubscribe. Maybe you even forgot that once, five years ago, you ticked a box and agreed to be mailed a new catalog or list of products and services every now and then. If you automatically move the envelope to the bin, unsubscribing will save you time and bin space ? and in the long run you can save some trees as well.

• When you?re buying a new box of paper, go for the unbleached variety. Many paper products, including some made from recycled fibres, are bleached with chlorine. The bleaching process can create harmful byproducts, including dioxins, which accumulate in our air, water, and soil over time.
• Set up a paper bin or paper box where you will store all read newspapers and magazine and other paper waste. This box can then be taken directly back into newsprint recycling.

7. No Unnecessary Plastics

Did you know that each year, we throw away some 100 billion polyethylene plastic bags ? from grocery and trash bags to those convenient sandwich bags?

Plastic bag by zeevveez

Plastics are made from petroleum, the processing and burning of which is considered one of the main contributors to global warming, according to the EPA. Moreover, not-recycled plastics kept in landfills contribute to the increase of greenhouse gases.

How can we lower our dependance on plastics? Using other materials or no material at all is the key. Plastics used for packaging are the most harmful ? not because they are made differently but because people seldom recycle them. Next time you walk your dog, try to count how many plastic packages there are on the street and let me know in the comments below. It would be interesting to know.

Buying groceries directly from producers can decrease the amount of packaging you use dramatically. So does carrying your purchases home in your own canvas tote that can be used over and over, and when you decide to retire the tote, nature will take it back with much more enthusiasm than any plastic bag.

8. Hardwood Flooring

Did you know that about 2.5 acres of bamboo sequesters 62 tonnes of CO2 per year, compared with the same area of a young forest, which holds on to 15 tonnes of CO2?

Harwood flooring by Mitch Barrie

Bamboo flooring is beautiful and can replace your hardwood flooring with charm. Maybe you have heard of it and maybe you haven?t, but bamboo is considered an environmentally friendly flooring material mainly due to its high yield and the relatively fast rate at which it replenishes itself.

• Bamboo is technically a grass, not a tree, and once the young bamboo is planted, it takes anywhere from four to ten years for the useable ?wood? to mature. After that, the plant can grow new shoots each year. And the shoots grow quickly ? as many as 30 centimetres per day. Impressive, don?t you think?
• Bamboo starts with rhizomes ? stems that grow underground and send shoots and leaves above ground. Therefore the plant can be harvested regularly without killing it. Trees, on the other hand, can be used only once, and it takes decades for a tree to mature.
• Thanks to the rapid growth rate of bamboo, it absorbs more carbon and produces more oxygen. It generates around 35 per cent more oxygen than the equivalent number of trees.
• Beyond these advantages, high-quality bamboo is stronger than regular hardwood floors, partly due to the fact that it?s a grass that bends in the wind. Because of its flexibility, high-quality bamboo is as durable as most types of hardwood.

Are you hooked on bamboo yet? If so, don?t forget to use formaldehyde-free glue to finish off your nature-friendly floor with style.

9. I Paint, You Paint, Healthy Paint

Did you know that conventional paints contain solvents, toxic metals, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can cause smog, ozone pollution, and indoor air quality problems with negative health effects?

The problems with most commonly available paints is their ingredient list. Besides VOCs, you can find fungicides and biocides as well. Toxic fungicides prevent mildew growth, and biocides acts as preservatives to extend shelf life. Toxic biocides can be detected in the air five years after the paint containing the chemicals is applied.

What should you look for when buying an indoor paint? Ideally you will want to use paint that meets all three health requirements: low VOCs (the Environmental Protection Agency?s minimum requirements are 250 grams per litre of VOCs in ?low-VOC? latex paints and no more than 380 grams per litre for ?low-VOC? oil-based paints), low fungicides and low biocides, and natural pigments.

Use pigments that come from a plant and are not made in a plant. Milk paint and natural paints are the most widely used interior paints. Natural paints derive from substances such as citrus and balsam, as well as minerals. Although these paints are made with natural materials and are petroleum-free, they often contain terpenes, which are VOCs derived from plants. However, they don?t usually contain fungicides and biocides. Milk paint, which is made with milk protein (called ?casein?) and lime is excellent for interiors and also gives wood a rich, deep colour.

10. Garden Green

Did you know that compost provides a full complement of soil organisms and the balance of nutrients needed to maintain soil?s well-being without the chemicals of synthetic fertilizers?

Perennial plants by InAweofGodsCreation

Have you decided to take up gardening? Great choice! Nothing beats the feeling of topping your yoghurt with fresh, home-grown strawberries. Gardening is not difficult when you choose the right combinations of plants and fertilizers.

• Try to use native plants as much as possible. Ask your neighbour for sprouts of plants that are obviously growing happily and without problems. Local plants have adapted over time to the environment and support native animals. They also use less water and require less of your attention.
• Make perennial plants at least 70 per cent of your home garden. Perennials live more than one year, and that means you don?t have to pay for new plants every spring. It also saves the resources required for growing annuals.
• Don?t use chemical pesticides, and set up a compost at the furthest corner of your garden. You can then proudly call your fruit and veggies organic.

While there are many other tips to help you save energy and be more nature-friendly, our list of the top 10 should be viewed as a solid starting point. If you?re hungry for one last eco tip, here it is: dig up the old-fashioned push mover from the back of your garage and start using. The only energy it uses is your own.

If you have a great energy-saving idea, please share it with us in a comment below!

Source: http://yourvancouverrealestate.ca/vancouver-life/2013/04/make-your-home-green/

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