5 easy eco-friendly home updates

It's easy being green!

If you're about to embark on a home renovation project, you have the perfect opportunity to start living a greener life. With some smart choices you can plan a green home renovation that saves money in future costs and reduces your impact on the environment.
The three mantras to living a more sustainable life are reduce, reuse and recycle. The easiest way to achieve a green home renovation on a budget is to focus on the first mantra – reduce.

Reduce water consumption

It is no secret that one of our most precious resources in Australia is water. It stands to reason then that anything we can do to reduce water usage is the first place to start when looking for ways to make our homes greener.

Reduce energy use and reduce bills

It seems the only way is up with electricity bills. Looking for ways to decrease energy use in our homes is great for the environment but great for your budget too. We all know that turning lights off and switching appliances off at the wall switch are a good idea, but there are also some simple things we can do while renovating too.
So how can we achieve a greener home renovation by reducing water and energy use without busting the renovation budget? Here, renovating experts Steve Burke and Suzanne Burke of Amerex Renovations and Additions, share five easy, low-cost home updates that help the environment and your wallet.

1. Reduce water usage in the Shower

You can try taking shorter showers, but for many of us long showers are a hard habit to break. The best way to reduce water usage in the shower to simply restrict the water flow.
You can completely replace your showerhead with a new water-saving showerhead. Or you can install a flow restrictor onto your existing showerhead. This will slow the flow of water and is the cheapest and easiest option.
You can keep your trendy tapware, just make sure you install a flow restrictor. Photo: Tom Ferguson

2. Replace or modify taps to save water

Replace old taps – especially if they are leaky - around the home with new taps that restrict the water flow. A great low-cost alternative to replacement is to screw on aerators to the end of each tap. This is a simple DIY project that will reduce flow rate while aerating the water and decrease your daily water usage.

3. Say goodbye to the old dunny

Did you know that the humble old-fashioned dunny is flushing away 10 to 12 litres of precious water at a time? Older toilets only have a single-flush button, whereas modern toilets have a dual-flush system which greatly reduces water wastage. A light flush with a modern toilet can use as little as 3 litres and a 'number 2' flush around 6 litres.
A new toilet could save tens of thousands of litres of water per year. Keeping old fixtures such as the old dunny no longer make sense economically or environmentally.

4. Save with LED lighting

An essential part of many home renovations is an overhaul of the electrical system (always get a licensed professional in) to bring it in line with modern safety standards. Install LED lighting at the same time and get rid of all of your old traditional light bulbs. LED lights have a slightly higher purchase price, but this is offset by the benefits they deliver over time. Benefits are reduced energy usage and lower maintenance and replacement cost due to their longer lifecycle compared to traditional light bulbs.
LED globes can be fitted into stylish, statement pendants. Photo: Sean Fennessy

5. Choose appliance with high energy ratings

Choose appliances, such as dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, refrigerators and freezers, with a high energy rating. These can significantly reduce your daily household energy use. The whitegoods market is competitive and you should have no trouble finding an affordable appliance that has a high energy rating. With washing machines and dishwashers, look for those that also have a high WELS rating.

Saving the planet, one household at a time

Reduced energy use lowers our carbon footprint and ultimately helps each of us to play a small part in protecting the future of our planet.
There are stacks of other ways to make your home greener and this is an area that homeowners are increasingly showing more interest. Many of us now realise that green initiatives not only reduce our impact on the environment by also deliver great ongoing cost savings.