| The past decade saw an increase of general | | | | Replacing your old fridge with a brand new |
| environmental awareness amongst homeowners | | | | energy-efficient model can save you over $150 a |
| everywhere, and the various industries attached to | | | | year. Might not seem like a lot, but it adds up. If |
| home improvement, furnishing and design took note | | | | every household in America switched to energy |
| of the trend. There are now a ton of ways that | | | | efficient appliances, we'd be saving millions in energy |
| homeowners can go green and give their home a | | | | costs as a country every year. Appliances today |
| nice upgrade in the process. Here are just 3 easy | | | | account for about 18% of a home's energy costs, |
| ways to make your home green. | | | | with the fridge being the biggest energy hog. The |
| 1. Use Green Materials | | | | Environmental Protection Agency recommends |
| Are you thinking of getting new hardwood floors or | | | | replacing appliances that are 10 years old or older and |
| upgrading you old worn fence? Why not opt for | | | | replacing them with energy efficient models, which |
| bamboo flooring or fencing instead of traditional | | | | you can identify by the "Energy Star" logo. According |
| hardwood? Help decrease deforestation by opting for | | | | to Energy Star's website, if one in 10 homes |
| a green building material. Because bamboo is a grass | | | | switched to energy efficient appliances, it would be |
| that has a rapid growing cycle and can be harvested | | | | the same as if we'd planted 1.7 million acres of new |
| without damaging the environment, it is much more | | | | trees. |
| eco-friendly than hardwood. Bamboo trees mature in | | | | 3. Energy Efficient Lighting |
| about four to six years, while hardwood forests can | | | | At this point, there's no reason to still have those |
| take over 100 years to grow back to their normal | | | | bright and energy hogging incandescent light bulbs |
| size after being cut down. Plus, bamboo looks | | | | hanging around. Energy efficient Compact Fluorescent |
| smooth and elegant as flooring or fencing. And if | | | | Light bulbs are not expensive and they use 66% less |
| you're gonna paint, use zero- or low-VOC (volatile | | | | energy than your typical incandescent bulb. Also, |
| organic compounds) paint, which doesn't contain the | | | | CFLs last 10 times longer. Replacing a regular |
| toxic solvents and metals that cause smog and | | | | 100-watt bulb with a 32-watt CFL saves you around |
| ozone pollution. | | | | $30 over the course of the CFL bulb's life. |
| 2. Switch to Green Appliances | | | | |