Eco-Friendly Home Decor Ideas: Sustainable Style for Every Space

These days, more than ever, go green is vital, including the way we decorate our homes. Other than helping the environment, eco friendly home decor also establishes a healthier living space. Creating an eco-conscious home that is sustainable, energy efficient and responsible is not only possible but stylish and fun too.

Whether you’re prepared to go full steam ahead with a green lifestyle or merely planning to make some mindful adjustments, here are some eco friendly home decor ideas to inspire you to alter your space along with sustainability in mind.

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1. Choose Sustainable Materials

Sustainable materials will be one of the most impactful options you can choose to make your home ecofriendly, for your furniture, flooring and décor. Many of these materials are responsibly sourced, have low environmental impact, and can be re purposed or recycled.

Sustainable Material Choices:

Reclaimed Wood: A fabulous eco – friendly material for use in furniture and flooring is reclaimed wood. In addition to preventing old wood from going to the landfill it also gives your space character and charm. Add warmth and texture to your home by looking for reclaimed wood furniture, shelving or even accent walls.

Bamboo: Bamboo is a renewable resource and a fast growing one with an excellent substitute for hardwood. It’s almost indestructible, very lightweight and can be used for flooring, furniture, accessories. Modern designs with bamboo are a great way to go ecofriendly.

Cork: The other sustainable material is cork, which comes from the bark of cork oak trees that renew themselves at harvest. Often used for flooring, wall coverings and furniture. Cork is resistant to moisture, durable, and gives a shot of organic style to your decor.

Recycled Materials: In choosing furniture and decor items, think of those made from recycled material such as glass, metal and plastic. While we may not be born with the skills needed to create artisanal, high quality pieces, many designers and artisans are busy upcycling materials to make wonderful pieces that are not only beautiful, but sustainable as well.

With these sustainable materials, you can make a stylish and eco conscious space that will look good and reduce your environmental footprint.

2. Make Energy Efficient Lighting Investment

The ambiance of your home and your energy consumption can be tremendously impacted by lighting. LED bulbs and smart lighting systems are great examples of energy saving lighting solutions in your home which will help save energy and ultimately lower your electricity bills. These energy efficient options incorporated into your decor will add to the function and beauty of your home.

Lighting Tips for Sustainable Living:

LED Bulbs: LED bulbs consume less energy than the regular incandescent bulbs, and last longer, which makes them environment friendly. Different color temperatures mean you’ll find the right lighting for whatever mood you want your room to be.

Smart Lighting: Systems such as Philips Hue or LIFX mean you can control your lights via smartphone or voice. They dim the lights, change the color, and set schedules — and they save energy.

Natural Light: Use sheer curtains and blinds that let nature's sunlight flood your rooms during the day. Beyond lowering your use of artificial lighting, natural light provides a warm, cozy feeling to your home.

One simple way to make your home more sustainable is to switch to energy efficient lighting options, which will also improve the look of the home itself.

3. Go Green with Indoor Plants

Besides, they are a part of beauty of any home as well as environmental benefits. As they absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen they improve air quality and make your home feel fresher and healthier. Plants can also help to reduce stress and increase productivity making for a more relaxed and invigorating space.

Plant Decor Ideas:

Air-Purifying Plants: There are some plants that can do quite effectively at purifying the air. Include species like snake plants, spider plants and peace lilies in your home. They are low maintenance plants that can be grown inside or would do well in the smaller confines of apartment living or rooms with little space outside.

Herb Gardens: A fun garden project is growing your own herbs, like basil, thyme or mint, bringing some greenery into your kitchen and reducing your carbon footprint. Care of indoor herb gardens is simple and it will give you fresh ingredients for cooking.

Vertical Gardens: If you have little space to work with, a vertical garden might be for you. With all the floor space that has been eaten up by our possessions, we use wall mounted planters or plant shelves to add greenery without taking up anymore of it. Since vertical gardens are just what they sound like, you won’t have a problem using them in areas with limited floor space such as small apartments, balconies and the like.

Adding plants automatically makes your home look better, and makes it a healthier, more sustainable way to live.

4. We Support Local Artisans and Eco Friendly Brands

Buying locally from local artisans and eco friendly brands can help reduce your carbon footprint, plus you get some very well designed and unique quality pieces for your home too! A lot of products created by artisans are made from sustainable materials and with fair labor practices and eco responsible manufacturing processes.

Check out local markets, eco friendly shops, and Sustainable online stores. Through supporting these businesses, you are giving to quality craftsmanship and minimizing the standard environmental impact of mass produced fast fashion decor.

Conclusion

An eco friendly home not only helps save our planet, with natural beauty and unique decorative wall art  .  It can also make your space classier and more mindful. There are plenty of reasons and ways to make your home more stylish and sustainable at once. If you also love your eco-friendly ideas for house decor, read on! Or if you want help finding the right materials for your eco friendly projects, seek an expert.

What Las Vegas Homeowners Should Know About Solar Panel Cleaning

 

 Solar panel installation could be the way to go if you want to save money on your energy bill and reduce your home's carbon footprint. What Las Vegas homeowners should know about solar panel cleaning is that solar panels are an investment. They have a long lifespan (25–30 years) and can pay for themselves over time.

Suppose you're interested in learning more about solar panel maintenance. In that case, this guide will provide you with all the information you need, including how often your panels need care, how much it costs to keep your solar panels, how to clean your solar panels, and more.

Here's what you need to know before you start cleaning solar panels.

Opinions on whether solar panels need to be cleaned vary widely. Some researchers claim solar panels don't need cleaning since rain can do the trick or that dust buildup doesn't significantly reduce output.

However, recent studies have shown that dust buildup on solar panels can reduce efficiency by as much as 20%. Particular regions experience fluctuating temperatures and varying levels of airborne dust. For instance, some areas have relatively little precipitation and air pollution. Dust accumulation in low-rainfall parts may be more significant, necessitating more frequent cleaning. In contrast, areas with frequent rainfall and low levels of air pollution may never need to clean their panels. The degree to which your solar panels accumulate dirt could even be affected by the angle at which your roof is pitched. For example, panels on a flat roof will collect more dirt than those on a steep roof.

 When Do I Need to Clean My Solar Panels?

Examine your home’s solar panels visually once a month to check for dust buildup. A drop in output may also appear on your monthly power bill or the solar system monitoring app. When that time comes, and only then should you worry about washing your solar panels. What Las Vegas homeowners should know about solar panel cleaning is that even if you don't clean them, nature will most likely do it for you.

Inspecting your solar panels is usually enough to determine whether they need cleaning.

How does geographic location impact the frequency of solar panel cleaning?

Where you place the panels affects how you will clean them and how often they need cleaning. In most cases, cleaning them once or twice a year is sufficient. In unusual circumstances, however, you might need to clean them frequently.

 Polluted places. Near factories, highways, and airports, solar panels that collect dirt and oil from the air work less well.

• Places with lots of trees. Leaves falling over solar panels can reduce their ability to absorb sunlight, so it's important to avoid installing them near densely treed areas. Birds are attracted to trees; their droppings can accumulate on the PV cells and damage the surface due to their acidity.

• Deserts. Sand builds up on PV panels in the Middle East and the American Southwest, which are arid and sandy. Sand builds on PV panels and blocks light, and scratches the surface. Rapid ash may happen in California and Australia, where wildfires occur often. 

What does it cost to keep your solar panels in good working order?

Most households get a professional solar panel cleaner and inspector once a year. There are so many solar panels on the roof that it is prudent to hire a professional installer. The good news is that even if you employ a professional to handle the upkeep, you can expect to pay only a nominal amount. Hiring solar panel cleaning experts isn’t expensive, so you should leave this task to the pros for convenience.

 An annual inspection costs about $150, and two cleanings cost about $150 each ($300 total), so yearly maintenance for a solar panel system costs roughly $450, as reported by Home Advisor. If your solar panel system is broken or dirt and debris build up faster on your panels, you may have to clean them more often and pay more for maintenance.

Hiring experts for solar panel cleaning is usually reasonably priced and is the best option.

How to Remove Dust and Grime from Solar Panels

Solar panels are one of the best eco-friendly investments for your home, so here’s how to clean them:

1. Before cleaning the panels, make sure you have followed the manufacturer's recommendations for doing so. Never attempt a system clean-up from the roof. You and your panels are in danger if you do that. 

2. You can save time and effort by brushing away any loose dirt before spraying it with water, making squeegeeing much easier. 

3. You may get by with a suitable nozzle for your lawn hose. A more thorough solar panel cleaning procedure may be required if there is a great deal of dirt and grime. You can use a squeegee attachment to clean. 

4. You should not use metal tools, abrasives, or cleaning solutions. Scratches on solar panels can block the sun, reducing its effectiveness. Get clean water and wet a cloth-covered sponge or a soft plastic brush. 

5. As opposed to the "hard water" experienced by some, rainwater has a relatively low mineral content. Squeeze the panels dry after washing to avoid mineral deposits and streaks.

You can clean solar panels with a garden hose. That is one of the things Las Vegas homeowners should know about solar panel cleaning.

Here are some that you should avoid when cleaning solar panels.

• Under no circumstances should cold water be used to clean heated panels. The PV panels may crack from the sudden temperature change. Instead, clean panels before sunrise, after sunset, or on a cloudy, cold day.

• It is not recommended to use chemicals that are acidic or abrasive. Before using a cleaning solution, check the label to see if there are any special precautions you need to take. If you are unsure what to use, stick with plain water and dish soap.

• Instead of installing gutters, consider using a plant-safe cleaning solution.

• Never use pressure washers. What Las Vegas homeowners should know about solar panel cleaning is that the glass surface of your solar panels can break if there is too much pressure on them.

 In Conclusion

What Las Vegas homeowners should know about solar panel cleaning is that solar panel systems will cost you more than many other major household purchases. However, they are substantially less high-maintenance and live significantly longer. Solar panel cleaning usually needs to be done once a year. Otherwise, your panels will not require any more maintenance throughout the year as long as they are in good working order.

Images:

https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-solar-panels-on-brown-roof-2850347/

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Eco-Friendly Home Swaps

If you’ve decided it’s time to work on your home, this is the perfect opportunity to make some eco-friendly upgrades. Smart appliances make your life easier, save you money in the long term, and reduce your home’s environmental impacts.

 

Whether you’re looking to add some new tech to your home or you just want to make some small tweaks to your routine, here are some eco-friendly home swaps for you.

 

Conserve Resources with Smart Systems

 

Smart home systems allow you to be in control of your energy and water use. Not only are they more eco-friendly, but they can save you money on your utility bills.

 

Switch Your Shower Head

 

Switching to a water-saving showerhead is an easy way to make your shower more eco-friendly. These showerheads keep up the illusion of high water pressure by aerating the water flow. The effect is similar to a higher pressure showerhead, without all the extra water use.

Install a Smart Thermostat

 

Smart thermostats connect to your phone so that you can always be in control of your home’s temperature. They can be programmed to directly suit your lifestyle needs, all from a mobile device.

Smart thermostats can also automatically adjust your home’s temperature based on the weather. This means that you can truly forget about your thermostat while saving energy and maintaining a comfortable home.

Make These Easy Kitchen Swaps

If working installing smart home technology isn’t for you, there are still switches that you can make for a more eco-friendly home. 

Start A Compost

So what is the big deal about composting? Well, the USDA estimates that 31% of food gets sent to a landfill in the United States alone. You can start your own compost on a spare counter with a small compost bin or see if you have a community garden that you can bring your scraps to.

Cut Out Paper Towels

While paper towels are convenient, they create a lot of waste. Switching to reusable dish towels reduces your home’s waste and gives you more decor opportunities for your kitchen.

 

Working towards making your home more sustainable is an important factor to consider when you decide to make some decor or appliance changes. Download the infographic below to learn about more opportunities to make your home eco-friendly on any budget.

 

The Best Eco-Friendly Lawn Ideas

Well-maintained grass lawns make for beautiful landscaping, but they also come with a cost. Not only do grass lawns take up lots of time, money, and energy to mow, but they require huge amounts of water and fertilizer to keep bright and green. This can lead to both water waste and fertilizer runoff, which has the potential to harm the surrounding environment.

Thankfully, if you want to reduce your environmental impact and spend less time maintaining your yard, there are plenty of lawn options aside from grass to choose from. Below, we’ve compiled a list of more eco-friendly landscaping ideas along with visuals from Angi.

Ground Cover Ideas

Ground cover plants grow low to the ground and spread out to blanket a space. With a little time and patience, you can cover either your entire yard or a portion of your lawn with ground covers.

The best part is that ground cover plants require no mowing; some occasional trimming can keep them in check if desired, but they require far less upkeep than grass.

Some great ground cover options include:

● Creeping jenny: This evergreen perennial has little vine-like stems that look beautiful when winding around garden paths.

● Sweet woodruff: With tiny, white, star-shaped flowers, this plant makes for a lovely stretch of lawn

● Corsican mint: This green plant blooms early in summer and gives off a pleasant, minty aroma. It’s also edible!

For more unique ground cover ideas, see the visual below

Native Plant Ideas

Native plants are the perfect solution to reducing the size of a grass lawn. Flowers, ornamental grasses, and shrubs that are native to your region make beautiful, aesthetically pleasing gardens. Not only do they require no mowing and less water than grass, but since they are adapted to the soil of your region, they don’t need much fertilizer. Native plants also attract friendly pollinators such as birds, bees, and butterflies. Therefore, cultivating these plants in your yard can help support local wildlife.

Some flower options are:

● Native perennials: Colorful perennial flowers look great in a raised garden bed or around trees.

● Shrub beds: Planting native shrubs is an ideal way to add some needed texture into your landscape.

● Roman chamomile: This flowering plant enriches the surrounding soil with valuable nitrogen.

For more native plant ideas, see below:

Non-Plant Ideas

Non-plant options require the least amount of maintenance and can often lend way to beautiful landscaping designs. Of course, they don’t need any water, and only require yearly top-offs or replacements to maintain. With strategic planning and creativity, you can replace your entire lawn or create a sectioned-off area with one of the sustainable materials below.

● Sand: Sand is the perfect, inexpensive ground covering for a fire pit area, a garden path, or a rock garden.

● Recycled mulch: A mulch bed made of compost is a great sustainable option for your grass replacement.

● Gravel: Long-lasting stones or pebbles can add interesting accent areas to your yard.

Below are several inspirational landscaping ideas using non-living alternatives to grass

By committing to one or several of these lawn alternatives, you can save time and money on lawn maintenance while also designing a truly unique outdoor look for your home. If you aren’t quite sure where to start, it’s best to contact a landscaping professional in your area to help you create and implement the design you’re dreaming of.

Ways to make your home eco-friendly

Another benefit of aligning with the cause is that optimizing your living space to be eco-friendly is also energy efficient. This means that you can save energy, and in turn, save a lot of money in the long run. A one-time investment toward an eco-friendly home might seem expensive and redundant at first. Still, studies have shown that this approach to home design is environmentally and financially prudent.With this in mind, we will take a look at what you can do to make your home eco-friendly.

Rethink your water waste and water supply

You should perceive all the elements of your household as potential sources of waste. Most people associate sustainability with energy consumption, most frequently in terms of electricity and heating. However, to make a truly significant contribution to environmentally-friendly home design, it is essential to think holistically. This means that it is necessary to consider other large systems that make up our homes. This is where your water supply and potential waste of water come into play.

The first thing to do is fix any malfunctioning taps and other elements that wastewater. Ideally, if you have decided to fix elements that are damaged or wasteful, you might want to consider swapping your current water supply system for a more sustainable, low-flow system.

The best way to control your waste of water is to install eco-friendly taps and shower-heads.

During the works, you may need to move your furniture and other belongings to a storage unit. If that is the case, make sure to call a moving crew that uses equipment and vehicles that adhere to sustainability principles. During your search for a conscientious company, you may come across miamimoversforless.com. By hiring such a company, you will be able to maintain your ‘green living’ in all aspects of your day-to-day life.

Apart from fixing and improving your water supply system, you should also rethink your daily habits that increase your overall water consumption. Simple changes such as closing the tap while you brush your teeth or shave can save thousands of liters of water annually. So, keep that in mind when you go to the bathroom.

Incorporate a smart meter into your home

As we have mentioned, your heating system is one of the most significant contributors to excessive energy waste. More and more people realize this and are making efforts to make their homes more energy-efficient. They do this by installing smart meters and other systems that can regulate how much energy you are consuming in the winter months. Smart meters allow you to optimize your heating. You can program them to turn on the heating only at certain hours during the day. As outdated heating systems cannot be regulated in this way, you are wasting your energy and money on heating your home while you are away at work, on vacation, at school, etc.

You can also set the meter to start heating your place one hour before you arrive home or turn it off one hour before you leave. In this way, you are not only saving energy - you are also making your living space more convenient for everyday use.

In some cases, it is necessary to rehaul your heating system altogether. Some sources of energy used for heating, such as coal or wood, are simply too wasteful and damaging to the environment. If you decide to remodel your home and install a more environmentally friendly energy source, be sure to rent a green storage unit for your belongings. If you already have one, you can have your storage unit transformed in no time to make it fit your green, sustainable way of living.

Replace wasteful light bulbs with eco-friendly ones

This minor change in your household will go a long way since old, incandescent bulbs are unnecessarily wasteful. Also, reasons for hesitating to buy eco-friendly light bulbs instead of traditional ones are few if you consider the fact that there is a wide variety of them available at the market.

The eco-friendly light bulb industry has improved their manufacturing to suit every single ambient.

Eco-friendly light bulbs are advantageous in that they last longer alongside the fact that they use less electrical energy to glow. So, these light-bulbs save both your money and energy in the long run.

Install solar panels

Solar panels have become synonymous with clean, green living in the last few decades. The reason behind this is that they produce electricity in a completely clean, sustainable way. So, if you live in a region that has even a modest number of sunny days in a year, you should definitely consider investing in solar panels alongside other more affordable energy-efficient improvements in your household.

In the past, solar panels were cost-efficient only in predominantly sunny areas. Nowadays, with the manufacturing technology improving by the hour, these systems can produce a hefty amount of energy even in regions that are not necessarily tropical.
 

Solar panels have been significantly improved over the years, allowing you to make your home eco-friendly even in areas with moderate amounts of sunshine.

Admittedly, it takes about 20 years for you to feel the financial benefits of installing solar paneling. However, the basic idea behind all green movements is to think in terms of long-term rather than short-term benefits. Therefore, you might want to consider integrating them into your home for the benefit of both your posterity and the planet we live on.

All in all, these are some of the fundamental ways to make your home eco-friendly. We hope this article has inspired you to research more on the topic and make a genuine contribution to making our planet more sustainable and environmentally-friendly.

Images:

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The Cost of LED Light Installation: How Much Should You Pay for Greater Efficiency?

LED lights are very popular thanks to their versatility and efficiency. Light emitting diodes (LED) are a semiconductor that converts electricity into illumination. Some people are reluctant to switch because of the cost and different terminology used when shopping for LEDs. We asked some experts from Connect Electric Adelaide if they could give us some tips on what LED’s to pick and how much you can expect to pay.

Choosing Your LED Bulbs

Instead of watts, LEDs work in lumens. Less wattage is required, so you won’t be searching for a 100w LED light. The equivalent in lumens will appear much smaller.

For example, a 40W incandescent bulb is equal to a 6W LED bulb, which is approximately 450 lumens of light output. A 10W LED generates 1,000 lumens, which is the same as a 75W incandescent bulb. And a 25W LED produces 2,500 lumens, which is the same as a 150W incandescent light.

There are also several colour options available. Most LED bulbs are available in warm white, cool white, or natural.

The Cost of LED Lights

The initial cost of an LED is higher than that of the average incandescent bulb. It may seem counterintuitive from a money-saving standpoint. However, you must look beyond the initial purchase.

LED bulbs have a very long lifespan, with some products surviving over 35,000 hours. They are also 85% cheaper to use compared to incandescent bulbs. They generate less heat, which means that your home’s cooling system won’t have to consume as much energy to maintain comfortable temperatures.

If you plan to retrofit your old bulbs with LEDs, then the cost will vary based on the wattage/lumens and type of product you plan to use. A 5.3W LED costs over $7 while a 5.5W is almost $12. A standard 10W LED globe replacement will cost between $12 and $18.

You can also choose LED bulbs with smart technology that can change colour on demand. These can run upwards of $50 to $80, depending on brand, quantity, and features.

Are LED Lights Worth the Cost?

According to ThinkProgress the average price of an LED bulb has dropped by over 85% in recent years and the number of instillations have skyrocketed. There’s also the long-term cost of operation to consider.

A high-quality LED bulb costs approximately $4 per year to run. It would take five or more incandescent bulb replacements to equal the lifespan of one LED.

LED lights are also cheaper to run compared to halogen bulbs. You’ll spend over $250 more in operation costs and replacements to run halogen bulbs compared to the price of LEDs.

The savings increase when you apply the replacement and running costs to your entire household. The average home has around 37 lights. When you multiply the savings, it’s easy to see why LEDs are so appealing.

Now is a great time to start switching to LED bulbs. If you can’t afford to switch all your lights, then start with one or two at a time. Convert to LEDs as your old bulbs burn out. There aredifferent brightness levels to choose from as well as colours that can keep your home well-lit and comfortable.