How to Reduce Your Home's Environmental Impact

Many Santa Cruz homeowners want to do their part to make their homes more eco-friendly, but aren’t sure where to start. Fortunately, you don’t need to invest in a major home renovation project to lower your environmental impact. Here are a few steps you can take right now to make your home more sustainable and lower your utility bills.

Seal Your HVAC System

Your HVAC system is a major contributor to your home’s energy usage.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, more than half of the average home’s energy costs go into heating and cooling. You can take a major bite out of your energy usage simply by eliminating waste in your existing HVAC units. If you own a traditional forced-air heating and cooling unit, sealing your air ducts is a great place to start. This act alone can lower your heating and cooling costs by 20 percent or more. Of course, if you are in the market for a new furnace or air conditioner, choose the most energy-efficient models available. Your investment will pay off in dividends in the long run. 

Unplug Energy Vampires

Every year, Americans spend more than $10 billion on powering devices that aren’t even in use. These energy wasters, or “energy vampires,” can include DVD players, power equipment, televisions, and any other devices that remain plugged into wall. Solving this problem is easy: simply unplug devices when there’s no reason to have them plugged in. To avoid the hassle of individually unplugging dozens of appliances, you can use power strips as central turn-off points.

Install Low-Flow Plumbing Appliances

In the Central Valley, cutting down on your home water usage is crucial for preserving groundwater reserves and protecting river eco-systems. Unfortunately, you could be wasting dozens of gallons of water every day simply through inefficient plumbing appliances. If you own an old top-loading washing machine, installing a modern front-loading model could cut your water usage down from 40 gallons per load to 15 gallons or less. Similarly, installing a new low-flow toilet can cut your gallons per flush in half. Talk to your plumber about the best water-conserving appliances available.  

Use Eco-Friendly Drain Cleaners

Corrosive drain cleaners are not only damaging to your pipes; they also increase the burden on wastewater treatment facilities by making it harder for them to purify water. You don’t need to sacrifice clean drains to do you part to help the environment, however. Green drain cleaning products use living microbes that literally eat the grease, fats, and oils that line drainpipes and cause clogs. These compounds are completely safe for repeated use, causing no damage to drainpipes or additional burdens on wastewater treatment.

Byline: Mr. Rooter of Santa Cruz helps homeowners go green with eco-friendly plumbing services designed to lower your water usage. Visit our handy drip calculator to find out just how much water that leaky faucet is wasting.