Modern living should be smarter and more sustainable to keep up with our fast-paced lifestyle and promote health and wellness without neglecting our environmental responsibility. In this way, we can enjoy a healthier, cleaner, and more comfortable living space while boosting our morale, productivity, and self-fulfillment.
But homeowners face challenges attaining this goal due to busy schedules and lack of knowledge on more practical solutions. In this article, you’ll learn how to make your home smarter and more sustainable.
What Makes A Home Smarter?
For a home to be ‘smart,’ an automated system must connect, monitor, and control appliances, lighting, entertainment systems, and other home attributes. Most importantly, your home must include access control, fire, smoke, and other alarm systems that make up a home security system.
Smart home automation makes a ‘connected home’ possible, allowing you to remotely control appliances, devices, and systems that connect to one network. Here are the other advantages of making your home smart:
- Flexibility for new appliances and devices
- Increase your home’s energy efficiency
- Improve your home security
- Improve home appliance effectiveness
- Provide home management insights
What Makes A Home More Sustainable?
The home is where carbon emission generation starts. According to the University of Michigan, space heating and cooling accounts for 43 percent of the energy of homes in the United States in 2022. Moreover, food accounts for 10 to 30 percent of a household’s carbon footprint. These findings highlight the importance of sustainable living.
Sustainable living is a lifestyle that sustains indefinitely and aims to reduce the environmental impact of human activities. The best practices to make your home more sustainable include recycling, using renewable energy, responsible water consumption, and conserving resources.
Here are the other advantages of making your home more sustainable:
- Save energy
- Reduce food waste
- Healthier lifestyle
- Save money
Top Industry Expert Recommendations
Check the top industry expert recommendations on how you can make your home smarter and more sustainable below.
1. Install Smart Home Features
Stephen Keighery of Home Buyer Louisiana explained, “Smart homes come with enormous benefits, making them easier to sell at higher prices than regular homes. If you plan to sell your house in the future, consider smart home features as a worthwhile investment, helping keep your home’s high resale value. Many buyers find smart homes a huge blessing because they don’t have to worry about complex installation upon moving in.”
Installing smart features can improve comfort, mobility, safety, and security in the home. Here are the best smart features to install in your home to reap these benefits:
- A Home Automation System
Control your electrical appliances, lighting, entertainment, indoor temperature, and other home systems with home automation.
- A Smoke and Fire Detection Alert System
This smart home system detects fumes, smoke, and fire early to prompt you to evacuate and notify authorities about the problem immediately.
- A Water Management System
The US Environmental Protection Agency reported that the average household could waste 180 gallons of water weekly, equivalent to 9,400 gallons of water yearly from leaks. An intelligent leak detection system can help save water and the environment. Water wastage due to neglected leaks is preventable with the help of a water management system, saving you a huge amount of money every year.
2. Recycle And Donate To Charity
Recycling can be challenging for busy people, but this task can make your home cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable. It’s the least thing households can do to help protect Mother Earth. Recycling helps reduce pollution, saves energy, and aids in natural resource conservation.
Sam Tabak of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities shared his insights on recycling waste and donating to charity to make a home more sustainable. He explained, “Recycling should begin at home. Instead of allowing your waste to go into landfills, you can make new things from them with creativity and resourcefulness. You can also donate unwanted, rarely used belongings to charity instead of allowing them to be worn out in storage units. These practices can significantly help reduce your carbon footprint.”
Look at the following recycling tips to make your home more sustainable:
- Buy Recycled Products
Recycling reduces the need to use more virgin materials for manufacturing products. If you buy recycled products, like recycled paper and bags, you help preserve the planet.
- Recycle Water
Minimize water wastage by recycling water. You can rearrange your plumbing so that rainwater and wastewater from the tub and shower can be used to water the plants and flush the toilet. If you have a garden, you can use dishwasher water or bathwater to water it so long as you use biodegradable soap.
3. Use Sustainable Home Materials
Many builders help property owners construct homes using sustainable materials and following green building practices. Because of higher environmental consciousness, many homeowners choose contractors that use sustainable home construction materials, such as low- or zero-VOC paints, energy-efficient lighting fixtures, and eco-friendly soundproofing materials.
Ludovic Chung-sao of Zen Soundproof, a soundproofing expert, shared his expert insights about eco-friendly soundproofing materials. He said, “Wool is a sustainable material with excellent sound absorption and natural antimicrobial properties. You can soundproof ceilings, floss, and walls with wool insulation. Another eco-friendly soundproofing insulation is recycled cotton, which is also free of VOC, formaldehyde, and fiberglass.”
Other Ways To Make Your Home Smarter And More Sustainable
Homeowners can implement other ways to make their homes smarter and more sustainable, such as the following:
- Consider renewable energy such as solar power
- Installing a drip irrigation system
- Installing high-performance windows
- Using natural light
- Regular appliance and HVAC inspection and preventive maintenance
- Replacing fluorescent bulbs with light-emitting diode (LED) lamps
- Building a fabricated, zero-carbon, or tiny home
- Using natural cleaning products
Conclusion
It’s high time to change how we manage our homes to make our living space more efficient and environmentally friendly. Making your home smarter and more sustainable is possible by applying the tips that industry leaders recommend above. By doing so, you can live healthier, happier, and more peacefully. Incorporating automation, reducing noise levels, and embracing innovative home features and appliances can also help conserve energy and resources and save the environment.