Green is great: Simple ways to make your home more eco-friendly

When it comes to concerns around climate change, the average Joe (or Joeline) might not be able to affect what's needed at a global level, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't take a "every drop counts" approach to making a difference, starting with our homes. 

Making small adjustments in and around the house is a great way to start reducing our carbon footprint. This is the view of Giel Viljoen, Principal at Leapfrog Stellenbosch. "When it comes to structural and systems improvements or upgrades in the home, eco-friendly needs to become our default option," he believes. 

Choosing with the environment in mind is about more than mere preference. "It's the necessary option and increasingly the most cost-effective for the long run," Viljoen shares. 

But short of growing your own vegetables and going completely off the grid, there are a number of things that can be done fairly easily to make a home more environmentally efficient.  

Most of a home's eco footprint is linked to its water and energy usage. "By reducing and managing these two factors, a property almost immediately becomes greener and, by extension, more appealing for the modern, environmentally savvy home buyer," Viljoen believes. 

Water wise 

We know that South Africa is a dry country and that drought has crippled parts of the country for years now, creating an increased awareness of just what a precious, finite resource water is. "Reducing, reusing and recycling water at home needs to be one of our main priorities," reckons Viljoen. Installing a water tank on your property is one way to save water. This water can then be used for watering the garden, washing cars or even flushing toilets. "Where possible, opt for a more sophisticated system that allows water to run off from the roof and gutters into the tank, rather than just having a tank that it needs to be rained into," Viljoen advises. 

Another simple way to save water is to install a low-flow shower head as these have been shown to use 50% less water, while a low-flow toilet uses less than 5 litres of water per flush, opposed to the 26 litres per flush in systems without. 

The garden is another area where we need to be vigilant about water usage."Gardens can be very water intensive, which is why opting to plant indigenous as far as possible is the most environmentally sound opton. "Indigenous plants by their very nature are suited to our warmer climate and typically need far less water than plants and trees that have had to adapt to growing here," Viljoen explains. "Indigenous plants won't just survive, they'll thrive, and they don't need megalitres of water to do so," Viljoen adds. Ask your local nursery about the best species to plant if you are unsure. 

Efficient about energy 

Solar energy is one of the most efficient and cost-effective renewable energy resources we know about. In South Africa we enjoy an average of around 2400 hours of sunshine a year, equivalent to more than a third of the year. This makes a great case for why solar energy needs to be more readily considered. 

One way of doing so in the home is through the installation of solar panels to capture, convert and store the solar energy. "While the cost of installing solar panels, and the associated setup, can seem prohibitive at the outset, experts reckon that the cost of installation can be recovered in as little as three years," Viljoen says. What's more, it's estimated that you save up to 60% on your monthly electricity bill right from the start. 

A simpler way to reduce electricity usage in the home is to replace incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescent lamps, as the latter use 75% less energy than the former and also last 10 times longer. "And don't forget to switch off the lights, always to run a full load of laundry and to minimise the use of heaters and the tumble dryer - remember every little thing counts," Viljoen believes. 

Waste not, want not 

Often, the most environmentally friendly product is the one that already exists. This is especially true of building materials like bricks, timber, sand, clay and metals, items that can often be reused in some way. "When renovating or building on, consider using recycled materials wherever possible," Viljoen recommends. What's more, things like window frames, sanitaryware, doors and fireplaces can easily be upcycled, often at a fraction of the cost too. 

While there are countless things that can be done, the important thing is to simply do something, however small. "Green is the new black when it comes to homes, and we're more and more buyers who don't mind paying a slight premium for a property that has some eco features. It's because they know it's the most cost-effective option in the long run and simply the way we need to start living," Viljoen shares.

The earth is the only home we have and worth taking care of, not until a property we work hard to afford each month.