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Last Updated on December 3, 2022
Image Credit: Gerhardt12 from Pixabay.
Making a home more eco-friendly has become increasingly popular over the past few years. That’s because it can offer a wealth of benefits. The most obvious of these include:
- Increase your overall home value;
- Make your home more energy-efficient, and;
- Reduce your energy bills.
With those in mind, it’s easy to see why many people have started making their homes more eco-friendly. The most common way of doing this is by installing solar panels in your home. If you plan on taking this approach, you’ll need to keep a few things in mind.
You’ll need to make sure that it’s the right choice for you, after all. There are a few specific things to ask yourself before installing solar panels.
What To Know Before Getting Solar Panels
Does Your Roof Need Repairs?
Before you install any solar panels, you’ll need to see what condition your roof is in. While it might seem fine to the eye, there could be problems underneath the surface. Giving things a proper inspection will help you figure this out.
If any repairs need to be done, you’ll need to get them done as fast as possible. That also goes for any minor work. Despite how small this might be, it could get larger over time. Fixing it then could mean taking the solar panels off to address them.
That’ll mean more time and money that you’ll want to avoid spending on it. Taking the time now will save you more in the future.
Can You Afford It?
Solar panels can often be relatively expensive. That means making sure that you have the money set aside to pay for it. You’ll need to spend some time figuring this out. If you think you can’t, you might be surprised.
You might be eligible for grants, solar loans, and much more to help you pay for the installation. While that’ll mean paying things off for some time, it could be a practical option.
Taking this approach lets you obtain the savings typically associated with solar panels and use this to pay for them. Once you’ve any loans paid off, you’ll see a significant return on your investment.
Can Your Roof Handle The Weight?
Solar panels will naturally weigh a decent amount. You’ll need to know whether or not your roof can support this. If you don’t know this, then you run the risk of collapsing your roof. That’ll naturally lead to a lot of money being spent on repairs.
To avoid this, have a professional come to determine whether your roof can support them. You should be able to contact a solar panel installation firm for a consultation on this. If your roof can’t support it, you should be able to have some work done to overcome this.
Other Ways To Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly
While solar panels are one of the most notable ways to make your home eco-friendly, it isn’t the only one. You might find that they mightn’t be within your budget for the time being. That doesn’t mean that you can’t make your house more environmentally friendly.
You have several other budget-friendly ways that you can take advantage of. Each could be recommended for multiple reasons. If you’re focused on keeping your costs low, then you’ll need to keep them in mind.
Properly Insulate Your Home
If your home is well insulated, then it wouldn’t leave out much heat. You’ve probably been told to insulate your home already and might have done so. You’ll need to make sure that this is done properly.
If there are any gaps where there shouldn’t be, then you’ll need to put more insulation down. That’ll make sure that there aren’t any drafts and that warm air can’t escape.
Speaking of insulation, you should also think about adding it to your pipes. Many of these can be exposed to harsh weather during the winter months. That could lead to them freezing over and cracking. Avoid that by making sure they’re well wrapped up.
Get Wooden Frame Windows
When you think of going eco-friendly with your windows, you’d typically picture double-glazing. While that’s a well-recommended option, it’s far from the only way you can go about things.
You could also choose wooden window frames, as these have much less of an environmental impact than you’d expect. Compared to uPVC, that’s especially true, as the production of this can be quite harmful.
If you source the frames correctly and make sure to look after them, they’ll lower your impact on the environment much less than you’d think. These frames could also be more affordable and look much better than more standard options.
That alone could make them more appealing.
Go Green With Cleaning
Few people think about how they clean when it comes to going eco-friendly. It’s one of the more budget-friendly ways you can do so, however. Switching your cleaning products to more environmentally friendly options could be an appealing option.
You’d be surprised by the number of harmful chemicals found in many cleaning products. These eventually end up in the water supply, which you might want to avoid. Picking up cleaning products that don’t contain these products is better recommended.
Switching to vinegar and lemon juice instead of detergent and bleaches could be an easy and low-cost way of doing this. Not only will you be more eco-friendly, but you’ll end up saving some money with this.
They’ll also clean your home much better than you’d think.
Wrapping Up
There are multiple ways to make your home eco-friendly. Solar panels may be the most well-recommended. That’s often because of the impact that they can have on your house. They can often be one of the more expensive to install.
You might need to spend a while saving for them. That isn’t a bad thing and could be a smart decision. When you’re doing so, it could be worth investing in some other ways to make your home more environmentally friendly.
You might end up saving more money than you’d think, which will let you save up for other home improvements faster than you’d thought.
