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How To Make Your Home More Sustainable

Harriet Goodacre

June 28, 2023

When making your home more sustainable it’s often a great investment for longer term cost savings, as well as helping the planet. If you invest in better quality products, they are more likely to last longer, saving you money in the long run. When renovating, it’s a good idea to examine every aspect of your property to see what you can make more sustainable with the longest lasting benefits. In this article we note some of the bigger investments you can make for your home as well as exploring some interior and exterior quick wins to make your home sustainable.

Energy Saving

Ventilation
All homes need ventilation, it stops your property from becoming damp. Installing a heat recovery ventilation system ensures a fresh supply of air into the building whilst retaining most of the energy you’ve spent money on to heat it up. This ensures that your property is using energy more efficiently.

Insulation
Upgrading your home’s insultation both in the walls and the loft will prevent heat from being lost.

Superior glazed windows
Scandinavian countries have been using triple glazed windows for years but in the UK we’ve been quite slow in updating our homes. Superior double or triple glazed windows are typical in eco-friendly homes as their primary job is to conserve energy. They absorb heat from the outside and reduce air leakage, allowing the property to collect as much as heat as possible reducing energy wastage.

Smart Tech
Installing systems in your home that use smart technology allow you to better control the energy used in your home. For example, smart thermostats ensure your property is set at the right temperature and is easily adjustable for different rooms in the home, helping to better regulate the overall temperature. You can put lighting on timers, ensuring lights aren’t left on longer than they should be, control your central heating system and your home appliances.

Floor Plan
When planning your renovation, think about how you use each room and when and then think of the orientation of your home. Maximise the natural light in each space, for example if you only use your lounge at night then make it north facing as you’re more than likely to use only artificial light anyway. If you predominantly use a room in the morning, for example a dressing area, make it east facing to make the most of the rising sun and if you’re looking to create an office, opt away from something south facing as it will be darker in the mornings and get too warm in the afternoons.

Cleaner Energy

Solar Panels
Typically, older properties use gas however with a few changes you could convert your property to avoid using gas altogether as well as becoming self-sufficient. Instead of relying on the national grid, you could create your own energy and store it for personal consumption with the use of solar panels and battery storage. This means you aren’t using any fossil fuels to heat and maintain your home’s systems.

Underfloor Heating
Modern electrical underfloor heating systems are connected to smart thermostats but they are also more energy efficient than regular heating systems as they use radiant heat, meaning they heat the room from the floor up rather than circulating air above like traditional radiators.

Biomass Boilers
When installed correctly, biomass boilers have a higher efficiency rate than conventional gas or oil-fired boilers. Biomass is a renewable energy source generated from burning wood, plants and other organic matter like manure or household waste and the boilers usually run off wood chips. This makes them cheaper over time to run as oil and gas are expensive fossil fuels. However, initial installation is a much higher cost point than a regular gas boiler but on the plus side, they require the same amount of servicing and with their efficiency they should level out over time with the added benefit of helping the environment.

Heat Pumps
Like biomass boilers, heat pumps have a high initial cost but do have longer term cost saving benefits. Using electricity, they work by drawing warm air from the outside and moving it into your home. You can also purchase air to water heat pumps which means you don’t need a boiler too. Unless the temperature outside drops below freezing, a heat pump will work at 100% efficiency making them a great option for the UK’s mild climate.

Recycling

Water
Water is a valuable resource all year round, installing a dedicated water conservation system allows you to save and reuse water efficiently. Rainwater harvesting allows you to make the most of the UK’s natural rainfall, collecting rainwater from larger surface areas like your roof and storing it in tanks like rain traps (underground) or water butts (overground).
If you’re a keen gardener, you can also install an automatic irrigation system outdoors that connects to your stored water. This means you will not only reuse your water but use it efficiently.

Reclaimed Materials
For further home improvements, try to source reclaimed wood. It saves on landfill, as well as deforestation and in many cases, reclaimed wood is actually better as it’s from more mature trees when compared to wood from sustainable sources which tend to be newer trees. Sourcing reclaimed brick is also another great way to save from landfill, it can be more expensive but it is usually more aesthetically pleasing, especially when renovating an older property as you can find a brick colour to match your home’s existing brick.

Your Interiors

Paint
When selecting your paint, do a little research into the brands you like and ensure they are doing what they can to make a better paint for the environment. You should prioritise a low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint.

Flooring
When selecting your flooring, tiles are a sound eco choice as they have a higher durability making them a longer-term investment than the likes of real wood and carpet. Look out for the tile’s recycled content, the higher the percentage the better and make sure you opt for a porcelain floor tile as this will be hardier both indoors and out. Another advantage of tiles is that they work well with underfloor heating and, in the summer, they keep interiors cooler than the likes of carpet so you don’t need to use fans or air conditioning to cool your home.

These tile ranges, that are suitable for floors, have 40% recycled content or more: Statements, Staunton, Hartley, Stadia, Elevo

Furniture
Try to buy second hand, vintage and upcycle furniture where possible, for example, consider reupholstering a sofa before discarding it. There’s some great vintage and antique furniture available, even scouring Facebook Marketplace for old IKEA furniture and upcycling it is better than buying new!

Lighting
Make sure you opt for LED lighting; they use 90% less energy than standard bulbs and last longer too. Also think about how you use your lighting, for example an effectively placed floor lamp is more efficient than 8 ceiling spotlights, it usually creates a nicer atmosphere too!

Cleaning

Natural Cleaners
Opt for more natural cleaning products in your regular routine, they’re not often as powerful as harmful chemicals however, lighter more regular cleaning is better when using natural products and it’s a lot less hard work than waiting for grime to build up. Check out our tile cleaning guide for some helpful hints and tips to natural cleaning.

Less Plastic
Try to use refillable bottles, preferably made from recycled glass, and top it up with your favourite cleaners. If you’re buying off the supermarket shelves rather than mixing your own, shop those brands that offer minimal packaging refills and dispose of the packaging correctly.

The Garden

Compost
It’s not the most exciting hobby but composting is easy and a great way to reduce food waste that would otherwise go in the bin. Simply buy a dedicated compost bin (preferably made of wood but do your research!), set it up somewhere out of sight but preferably somewhere that gets a lot of natural light (the heat will make it turnover quicker). Then start to add your raw food waste, garden clippings, biodegradable materials (like cardboard and compostable plastic) and even teabags, if you buy the right kind. Just avoid any cooked food, seeds and weeds and you should create a great eco-system that will then feed your garden.

Environmental planting
This simply means planting for your garden’s climate and soil type. Try to go for plants that are hardy and require minimal water to survive. But also think about the insect population and try to attract more wildlife to the garden, particularly bees.

Outdoor Tiles
For a garden to be functional, most people want a patio area for sitting and eating etc. Although this is space taken away from nature, try to make the most of the space for opting for an easy to maintain porcelain outdoor tile. This means minimal cleaning come the warmer months and you’ll be less inclined to use any chemicals to remove moss etc. The Everscape range is frost, algae and stain resistant, so it simply needs a quick jet wash or a scrub, requiring minimal water compared to other natural surfaces.

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