6 Ways to Make your Home More Green

Over the past decade or so, there has been a bigger push than ever for citizens to do our part in protecting our planet and lowering our carbon footprint. At CC Sunscreens, we care about protecting the environment as well as your home and wallet. With this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of 6 ways you can make your house more eco friendly (and often also more cost effective!).

This one comes naturally to many of us desert dwellers – although there are always additional water saving tips we may not know. Landscaping your yard with beautiful desert rocks or an Astroturf putting green is a common trend in Arizona, and also saves tremendous amounts of water. According to National Geographic, about 60% of a person’s household water usage goes to garden and yard maintenance. Smaller and easier changes can also lower household water usage. Since filling a bathtub takes a staggering 70 gallons of water, opt for showering for your daily routine. Additionally, investing in an inexpensive low flow showerhead can save 15-gallons of water during each 10-minute shower.

Lowering the thermostat while at work or school can lower your energy usage as well as your electricity bill. However, remembering to turn the thermostat off in the morning rush can be difficult (and frankly annoying). Luckily, companies such as Nest have created “smart” thermostats, which do the calculations and money saving adjustments for you. It is estimated that these types of thermostats save about 130-145 dollars per year.

This one may seem silly, but using extension cords can make reducing energy usage a snap. Here is what we mean. Most people don’t realize that electronic devices draw electricity even when they are switched off. Unplugging the cords is the only way to ensure power is not being used. Obviously, waking around the house unplugging all your devices every morning is not ideal. Thus, the importance of power strips. If most of your devices are plugged into one extension cord, flipping the switch to the off position will prevent the devices from consuming energy when not in use.

Did you know that 80-90% of the energy used when you run your washing machine is to heat up the water? Besides huge energy savings, there are many benefits to running your machine on the cold or “eco” cycle. In colder water, clothing colors are less likely to bleed or fade. Even tough stains can now be removed on the cold cycle, as laundry detergent companies have introduced heavy-duty detergents made especially for cold water cycles.

We have the perfect climate for solar energy projects! Installing solar panels on your house may be a large initial investment, but it is one of the most dramatic ways to decrease your home’s non-renewable energy usage. There are also incentivizing tax breaks and rebates available for these types of projects. Reach out to your tax professional for more information on the benefits.

While installing sun screens is our personal favorite for obvious reasons, there are also economic and environmental reasons for sun screen installation. Solar screens are a much more affordable option when compared to solar panels or other solar projects! It is estimated that simply installing solar screens on your home’s windows can reduce your energy bill by about 25% each and every month – and thus pay for themselves in about 2-5 years. Data analysis from SRP shows that solar screens reduce your home’s heat by about 48%. As an additional bonus, from now until April, homeowners who have solar screens professionally installed can receive $0.80 per square foot in the form of a rebate from SRP. To read more about this exciting offer, click here.

Reach out to our friendly CC Sunscreens team today to schedule your free in-home, no obligation consultation today. Whether you are just gathering information on the benefits of professional grade solar screens or are ready to start improving your home with sun screens today, we are excited to serve you. We truly believe in our products and the benefits they have for your home, family, wallet and the environment.