Ten Tips to Reduce your Carbon Footprint

If you want to help our planet fight against climate change, the battle starts with you and your own home.
In this blog, we are going to share ten easy ways to reduce carbon emissions, all of which you can go out and implement today. Studies suggest that almost 1/3 of carbon emissions originate from the household, and yes, that probably includes your house, so your actions will definitely help save our planet!

1. Use Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL)

We use lights every night, so why not GO GREEN ? Fluorescent light-bulbs use far less energy than the standard bulbs, which means less carbon emissions and a lower energy bill. It's a win-win situation completely.

2. Plant a Tree/Trees

Planting a tree is one of the best ways you can continually help the environment. Although one tree does not help a lot in terms of reducing carbon levels (around 25lbs a year) if you plant 5 trees and they are each around for 10 years, you've helped get rid of 1,250lbs of carbon, which is not bad at all.

3. Clean Your Air-conditioner's Filter often.

A lot of people use their air-conditioner almost everyday. When the filter gets clogged with dust, it makes the unit work harder to intake air. This could be responsible for up to 10% of the power your air-conditioner uses, so by doing this, you're not only saving the environment but, your own money as well.

4. Use a Cloths line, Not Dryer

 

What better way to cut carbon emissions than to stop using a whole appliance? Even though your clothes may not be as soft, you still get the bonus of reducing your carbon output by around 2,000lbs a year, and the electricity bill savings are bound to make up for the flaws of clotheslines.
so try using a dryer when absolutely necessary.

5. Install a low-flow shower head

 

This is not really a hard thing to do, and it reduces the energy used by the hot water system, as you are using less water. Additionally, your should see a fair improvement in your water/electricity bill. Purchasing the shower head may be slightly expensive, but worth the expense.

6. Turn off Appliances When You Are Not Using Them

 

This couldn't get any simpler. When your appliances are on stand-by mode, they continue to leech a small amount of electricity. So you are basically being charged for electricity you haven't used.
Also try this while charging your hand phone/mobile, once the charging is complete, please remove it from charging.

7. Shop With a Reusable Bag

 

The plastic bags that we get at the shops are a major hazard to our environment, and although they may not really contribute to carbon emissions, We thought this was a good tip anyway. Instead of buying plastic that can kill marine animals, or having the bag take 100s of years to degenerate, why not just use a reusable bag. You can carry a lot of groceries with just the one bag, and they are easier to carry then plastic bags (plastic cuts into your fingers)

8. Lower The Brightness of Your Computer Screen

 

Here we go, something that you can do right now! Most people like to have their screen at full brightness, but it is usually not necessary, and by lowering your screen brightness, you can save a substantial amount of energy. Changing your brightness is simple, and can usually be done with a few clicks of the button on your monitor and it's reduces the stress on our eyes.

9. Wash Clothes In Cold Water

 

Another heating-related tip, there is really no need to wash your clothes with hot water unless they are very dirty. Your power bill will thank you too as your hot water system not having to produce extra hot water, and you will notice not much difference.

10. Discover a new way to reduce carbon emission 

      ON YOUR OWN      :-)

 

If we all start 'thinking' of new ways to reduce carbon emission from our household, only then can this effort turn global. Remember, the effort has to come from within us whole-heartedly.