The Rise of the Eco Home

We need to be more green. Our homes are not sustainable. The world is heating up and our living spaces are contributing to that.  This, big business and personal transport is all pointing to the end of the environment as we know it.  Isn’t that the truth? We need to be greener. So how do we do that? You could follow the example of Dick Strawbridge and go completely green but as you can see from that show it was a struggle and he had a farm, it’s not as if he was living in a two bed semi in Dorking or needed an Office cleaning in Cheltenham. If he did then http://intocleaning.co.uk/services/office-cleaning/ could certainly help him out. So, what are we supposed to do?

Recycling. We do this already, but we could look to do much more. It’s not going to save the planet by recycling glass and plastic bottle every other week. The other issue is that you can’t easily recycle everything or assume that the council can. Take, for example, the humble Nespresso pod. Deliverer of cheap and cheerful barista and shop style coffee, relatively cheaply and without the need of a disposable cup (more about that later). You don’t have to leave the house so the transport cost are gone to, the machine gets the water hot enough for coffee but not boiling as coffee reacts badly to boiling water. Only one problem, the pod that the coffee is in. Not recyclable. None of it, and there is growing mountain of them. In Germany they are banned in public offices. So all the hard work you have done is counteracted by the land fill problem. Back to the cups. Though they appear to be hardened cardboard and therefore supposedly recyclable they are covered in a thin layer of polyurethane to stop the drink coming out. Plastic, not recyclable.

Power source. This is something you can do. Get solar panels fitted. At one point the Government gave you a grant to put them up but that is coming to an end as the process is now seen as being affordable as the competition for providing the service is dropping as installation companies fight for your business. You may find, though this is also decreasing that the you actually add to the electric grid. Gas is still used and is an issue as reserves dwindle. It may be that the use of electric powered ovens and hobs mean that we use more and the solar panels, though have improved immeasurably and can take the smallest bit of sunlight and use it, may not keep up. Wind does not generate enough, and wave appears to either not work at all or be very costly and damaging to put in place.

One of the quickest and easiest ways to make the home greener is cavity wall insulation and double or triple glazing. They help to retain heat in the home. We’ll all need to make a change.

 

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *