Say yes to eco

Driving home this afternoon, I was listening to a chap being interviewed on the radio, who was talking about the benefits of alternative power sources for your home, such as solar panels and wind-powered electricity.

There is such a hype about “going greener” and living in a more eco-friendly way, but it all seems so complicated, with costs involved that we just can’t afford with the rising fuel, electricity and food prices. So I hunted out some easy and clever ways to lighten our carbon footprints in the perimeters of our own homes – and some more longer-term investments that can certainly save a tree or two.

Recycle

There are various ways that we can involve recycling in our daily lives. One is to put in a little extra thought when throwing out rubbish, and separate it into different bins – plastic, glass, paper, metal and organic waste. Keep bigger bins in an out-of-the-way place for the first four categories, until they are full, then set aside a couple of hours on a weekend to take them to the relevant drop-off areas. Organic waste doesn’t end its career when it is thrown in the bin! Keep your potato peels, carrot tops and other organic waste for the compost bin in your garden. 

The other way to recycle is to reuse items like margarine and ice-cream tubs, empty soft drinks bottles, old toothbrushes, etc, for other purposes – like storing your jams and biscuits; cutting the bottles in half and planting courtyard herbs in them; and using old toothbrushes for cleaning your jewellery.

Start a compost pile or bin

Going back to those veggie leftovers: did you know that vegetable wastes are excellent organic materials to add to a compost bin, as the nitrogen in these greener materials provides microbes with the raw element of proteins to build their bodies. Combine this with the carbon in leaves and woodier wastes like old branches; and heat from animal manures to speed up the decomposition process; and you have a natural miracle mixture that not only improves the quality of almost any soil, but improves the structure and texture of the soil, enabling it to better retain nutrients, moisture, and air to boost plant growth.

Keen in mind though to allow the compost the full time to finish its decomposition process, as the eager gardener who can’t wait to give his or her soil that nutrient boost may be putting said plants in a position where they are competing with the bacteria in the compost for nitrogen.

Replace traditional light bulbs with eco-friendly ones

Without getting too technical, the difference between traditional incandescent bulbs and energy-efficient ones, most commonly known as CFLs (compact fluorescent lights), or LED lamps, is that energy-saving bulbs use up to about one-fifth of the electricity that incandescent bulbs do, and last from eight to 15 hours longer, while giving the same amount of light.  These are more expensive that traditional globes, but because of the above factors, can save over five times their purchase price in their lifespan. This all has to do with their composition and luminous efficacy.

Unplug unused devices when you aren’t using them

We’ve all heard this before, especially over the load-shedding period not too long ago. But there is merit in this advice. What happens is that appliances at rest, but still plugged into the wall socket, draw phantom power – which can account for up to 10% of a home’s electricity usage. Phone chargers, digital cameras, TVs, computer monitors, DVD players, printers, kitchen appliances and other electronic devices are quite devious when it comes to sneaking a few extra watts when you’re not looking. All it takes is a little bit of self-conditioning to switch off a non-essential appliance after using it, and you could save a lot of money and electricity every month.

Save water

Turn off the water when you brush your teeth, and teach your kids this valuable lesson while you’re at it. You can save up to 30,3-litres of water a day just by doing this little exercise. There are also a number of water-saving devices on the market, such as showerheads and taps, which regulate the amount of water that comes out of the tap.

Another “cool” tip is to water your garden after 6pm and before 6am in the morning – there is less evaporation and thirsty plants can have a good soaking while you use less water.

Going solar

As Our Chap was chatting about on the radio this afternoon, solar energy is making inroads into saving electricity, money, and reducing our carbon footprints. There are a number of reasons for this:

1. Solar energy is renewable – unlike depleting coal resources, the sun is sure to rise each day, providing the energy needed to power our homes.
2. The energy is clean, unlike traditional power plants that create pollution in the forms of carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, mercury, and even radioactive material. No such pollution is created in the process of converting solar energy into electricity.
3. You will see a marked reduction in electricity costs – which is good news in the face of the 16% p.a. price-hike proposed by our local power supplier.
4. Something that our teenagers yearn for – independence! Solar energy brings with it independence from relying on one source to provide our total energy needs, and being a captive market to the regulations imposed by that source. Gas provides some relief, however there are additional costs that need to be considered when factoring gas into our monthly budgets.
5. The fuel is free!
6. Solar panels are pretty easy to install, so the hassle of converting isn’t too painful. The conversion cost may be higher than one would hope for, but the returns on this investment far outweigh the initial capital injection.
7. In the case of a power outage, your emergency power is already in place. Most homes don’t have a backup generator, so when the power goes out you are left without the accustomed necessities to cook for your family, heat water – and worse, your security system may be compromised.
8. Tax incentives – the government authority is offering tax incentives to solar-power your home, which could end up almost covering the cost of the installation.