To fight climate change and become more resilient, we need to improve our homes and make them more sustainable. That can yield great benefits for us and the planet. But what can we do at low cost, with simple DIY?
What DIY can help me make my home more sustainable?
Can I make my place more efficient with little effort?
What recipes can I apply today to make my home more resilient?
Related Articles:
Related Discussions:
Climate Coping: helping people to better live with climate change
Where can geothermal energy be used as a primary source of energy?
#home #smarthome #sustainability #improvement #resilient #passivehouse #coping
Simple DIY under 1,000โฌ
Look for gaps and seal them up
It is one of the main feature of a passive house: make your home air-tight! Because when you let drafts flow around doors and windows, you loose a lot of heat during cold weather, or a lot of freshness during warm days.
The good news is that there is a range of low-cost products at hand, such as rubber strips for underneath doors and foam strips for windows. They are easy to install, and yield great results. As an additional benefit, these DIY will also help to keep out dust and insects.
Install ceiling fans in main rooms
If you live in a warm area, or an area with warm days, you may already have an air conditioning system. But you should know that installing fans in living areas and bedrooms also provide a cooling effect on the body, equivalent to a drop in temperature of several degrees. And yet, fans use significantly less energy than air conditioning systems. It's a low tech solution to an increasing concern. It is easy to set up, and will save you thousands of euros on the long term.
Plant some trees
Well, you know we like to plant trees at Climate Coping. But this time it is not about carbon sequestration. In fact, the shade of a tree is like a natural air conditioner, or almost. It provides shelter from extreme sun and transpires moisture to cool the air around it. So trees are great close to your home, as they provide shade in summer and lose their leaves in winter to allow in warming sunshine (well at least in some regions of the world). It is also a great way to protect your garden.
Hang nice thick curtains
Las easy DIY on the agenda, go get yourself some nice thick isolating curtains. Why? Because windows are usually the thermal weak point in a flat/house. It is where most of the heat escapes in winter and enters in summer. So an easy fix is to install curtains that will act as insulation. Thick lined curtains are best as they trap air which improves the insulation value. Open the curtains on warm winter days to let sunshine in and close them on hot summer days to exclude unwanted heat gain.
Here you go, make your home more sustainable!
๐ค
Great tips thanks! I should have thought of ceiling fans... ๐