Small steps to save energy, reduce waste and protect the environment at home
Right now, it’s more important than ever to save the pennies where you can. There are small changes you can make that will go some way to helping save where you can and all while doing your bit to help protect the environment at the same time.
Food for thought
Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire has a plethora of organic food producers. We can all do our bit to support local businesses by purchasing food and ingredients from them where possible, while reducing the transport needed when we get our food from further afield.
The Bridgefoot Organic Co-op is a local business growing and supplying organic fruit and veg boxes in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. Wonky veg boxes are a great way to reduce waste. Wilted vegetables can also be saved by keeping them submerged in ice water for an hour. Veitch Moir and Berwick Wood Produce also offers local fruit and vegetable boxes.
Reduce waste
One way to reduce the amount of food waste going to landfill is to mix fruit and veg peelings, coffee grounds and tea bags with things like grass cuttings, dry leaves and cardboard kitchen/toilet roll tubes and eggboxes in a home composting bin.
When grocery shopping, you can cut down on waste by refilling containers rather than buying products wrapped in plastic. One way to do this is by visiting a refill shop like Refillosophy, where you can get your hands on products like coffee beans, baked goods, vegetables, cereals, cheese, milk and bread.
Turning your heating down by one degree
You can reduce your carbon emissions and energy usage by ensuring you are not using more heating than you need. You can also invest in modern and easy to use controls to help you take control of your heating. For a central heating system, we recommend a timer or a programmer, room thermostat and thermostatic radiator valves. Alternatively, smart heating controls are available for all types of systems, including electric storage heaters. Many of the homes at Grandhome are equipped with thermostatic zone control or programmed thermostats.
Energy efficient appliances
While insulating and changing the way we heat our homes is the big carbon saving opportunity, choosing energy efficient appliances is a straightforward way to reduce your carbon footprint.
How you use your appliances can also affect how much energy they use. Cooking, cooling or freezing, and wet appliances typically account for 13% of an average household’s energy consumption. How often you use these appliances is one factor, but by choosing eco modes (when available), lowering the temperatures, and airing clothes on a line instead of using a tumble dryer, for example, can all help to reduce your energy consumption.
When looking to replace an appliance, aim to choose a model with a high energy efficiency rating that meets your needs and budget as this will help minimise your home’s carbon emissions.
Switch your lightbulbs
Another easy way to improve your home energy efficiency is by switching your lightbulbs around the house. Typically, a modern LED bulb uses 80-90% less energy than a traditional lightbulb. By switching you can, not only reduce your electricity bills, but also lower your carbon emissions by up to 65kg a year; that’s the equivalent to the carbon dioxide emitted by driving your cars around 220 miles.
What makes Grandhome so efficient?
New homes come with a range of amenities and features that help reduce energy use, saving you money, and going some way to reducing the impact on the planet. Situated conveniently near both city and countryside, Grandhome has been built with the need to be a ‘walking neighbourhood’ in mind – so that residents can access all of their everyday amenities within a 5-10 minute walk.
There are a range of new build homes for sale at Grandhome from housebuilders including AJC, Cala, Dandara and Malcolm Allan. Get in contact if you would like to learn more about Grandhome.