Your carbon footprint will mean the amount of carbon-dioxide released into the atmosphere on account of your activities. The increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is said to be the main culprit in causing widespread climatic changes that are affecting the life on earth drastically. To reduce your carbon footprint, you need not spend anything. Just bringing about some changes in the way you do things can do your bit to save the environment. Here are a few ways in which your home can reduce its carbon footprint.
Tips to reduce carbon footprints at home
Consume locally sourced food
Ordered foods travel long distances from where they are made to reach your homes. This will mean wastage of a lot of fuel. These fuels are the main contributors to releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. When you eat local foods, you reduce the amount of emissions you cause through your eating habits.
Reduce the consumption of meat
Processing meat requires the use of fossil fuels. Diets based on meats need two times more carbon emission than vegetarian foods. The vegetarian diet that does not depend on mean will mean reducing your carbon footprint.
Reduce your consumption of bottled water
Use tap water for drinking or fix up a filter to clean it before consuming. Bottled water travels a long distance to reach you. Your dependence on bottled water will increase your carbon footprint.
Insulate your home properly
Ensure that all the windows of your home close properly seal the areas that are drafty. Get your home professionally insulated in order to prevent the increase in power and fuels to heat it up.
Maintain your air conditioning systems properly
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to maintain the heating and cooling systems of your home properly so that you save on the power or energy needed to run them.
Go for LED lighting
Replace your outdated candescent bulbs and CFL bulbs with LED lights. These lighting systems consume the least energy while giving out brighter lights. Studies show that they consume about 80% lesser energy than conventional bulbs. LED lights also last for much longer than the traditional lights.
Turn your water heater to vacation mode when you are out of your home
Vacation mode will keep the water warm but will need lesser energy to maintain the system. Hence by turning to the vacation mode, you save the energy and thereby reduce your carbon footprint.
Remove the plugs of your electrical appliances
When your electric appliances are not in use, remove their plugs from the power sockets. If they are continuously plugged in when not in use, they will lead to draining the electric power unnecessarily. An alternative idea will be to use a power socket to plug in your appliances and turn off the power supply to the power strip when it is not in use.
Use cold water as much as possible
Do not depend on hot water too much. Using cold water more will mean you are reducing your carbon footprint by not wasting the fuels.
Recycle the used materials
Do not dump the used bottles and newspaper into the trash after you have done with them. Recycling will use up lesser energy and will also save more resources.
