Homeowners and homebuyers want to save money on utility bills and also want to make their Santa Cruz home better for the environment.
Whether you’re prepping your Santa Cruz home before putting it up for sale or you just want to make a few changes so your home is more environmentally friendly, here are 11 ideas to choose from:
1. Put in CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs or LED bulbs that conserve energy: CFLs use a quarter of the electricity as regular bulbs.
2. Upgrade your existing windows: Replace them with high-performance, insulated windows.
3. Use green, non-toxic organic, VOC-free paint: Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are found in paint and harm the air we breathe.
4. Remove your old non-green carpeting: Carpeting can emit allergens and toxins, so replace with eco-friendly carpeting, wood or tile.
5. Replace hardwood flooring with bamboo flooring: Bamboo is considered environmentally-friendly flooring due to its high yield and rate at which it replenishes itself. Another plus is that bamboo floors are highly moisture resistant.
6. Install a digital thermostat: Replace your old manual thermostat with a more energy-efficient digital version.
7. Get Energy Star-qualified appliances: Getting rid of that old refrigerator could save as much as $150 a year.
8. Put aerators on all household faucets: This can cut your annual water consumption by 50%.
9. Install low-flow toilets: These only use 1.6 gallons of water per flush as compared to 3.5 gallons per flush with pre-1994 models.
10. Bring green, leafy plants into your Santa Cruz home: They will clean the stale, winter air inside your home, giving you cleaner air to breathe.
11. Insulate and caulk cracks and seal leaks: This alone can drop your annual heating bill by $100.
You do not have to spend a lot of time or money to green your Santa Cruz home, start saving money and help the environment. Doing this can gain you a leg up on the other homes for sale in your price range by slashing your monthly energy bills, reducing water usage, cleaning up your indoor air quality, and making your home stand out from all the rest.
Give me a call today at 831.662.6522 or email me at Lauren@LaurenSpencer.com for more ideas to green your home.
For additional real estate information, visit my homepage at www.MySantaCruzRealEstate.com.
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Put aerators on all household faucets
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Posted by Lauren Spencer on
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