While a house can last for decades, it may require a couple of renovations throughout your lifetime.

Some common reasons are wear and tear, changing needs, or growing a family. In fact, we often renovate and spruce up our space to accommodate our current lifestyle.

But other than that, you can also renovate your house to make it more eco-friendly. That said, we have listed 11 sustainable home upgrades that you can do:

1. Improve Your Kitchen

One of the most extensive energy-intensive spaces in your home is your kitchen. As such, it only makes sense to renovate this part of your house and make it sustainable. 

You can renovate your kitchen to allow sunlight in. That way, you do not need to rely on artificial light when in the kitchen. 

Skylights, glass, and special double glazed windows significantly cut down energy use as well. It uses incoming solar radiation to keep interiors warm.

Another idea is to replace your faucet with a water-saving model. You can also use this as an opportunity to replace your old kitchen appliances with energy-efficient ones.

2. Get A Cooler Roof

Getting a roof that reflects heat rather than absorbing it will keep your home cool with very little energy. 

Metal, for instance, offers a fantastic cooling option. It can last for decades and tends to mimic cooler materials such as tiles, wood, or stone. 

3. Invest in Green Flooring

Hardwood floors are an excellent investment. However, do you know that you can get hardwood's same look and feel using more sustainable options?

For instance, cork flooring made from leftovers at bottle-stopping factories can be an eco-friendly alternative. 

Not only are they durable and spill-resistant, but it's also a more sensible choice if you have kids or pets.

4. Upgrade to Energy Efficient Windows

Upgrading energy-efficient windows, especially bigger ones, can significantly reduce heating costs. Triple glazed windows with fiberglass frames are excellent if you want to keep the air ambient and your desired temperature. 

By replacing these windows, you'll have the chance to seal any cracks where air can leak and then install a new weather stripping.

5. Go for Energy Efficient Appliances

If you have older appliances at home, then you could be potentially wasting a lot of energy. By replacing your old appliances with energy-efficient models, you're reducing your electric consumption. 

Examples of these appliances include dishwashers, dryers, freezers, and refrigerators. Other examples might include boilers, ceiling fans, air conditioning units, light fixtures, and a lot more. 

6. Consider Pre-Owned Items

Buying things that are pre-owned instead of brand-new is an excellent way to do this. Most people think that eco-friendly is energy-related all the time, which is the contrary. 

You might want to stop yourself from buying brand-new, virgin materials unless needed. You might want to consider checking out local thrift stores instead, as they sell slightly used items that still look good and wear well.

7. Install a Solar Hot Water Heater

Solar water heaters need to be replaced every 10 or 15 years. Nonetheless, it allows you to consume less power for water heating while increasing the overall resale value of your home. 

In fact, according to the US Department of Energy, solar water heaters allow you to save up to 50 to 80 percent of the cost of heating your water.

8. Start with Minor Repairs

Renovating your home to become more environment-friendly doesn't always require full-on renovation. Sometimes, all you need to do is do some minor repairs that you've been putting off for a while. 

Having leaky faucets, for instance, lets you lose a large amount of water over time. You might not even realize it since you're so used to the dripping. 

Do you know that a leaky faucet can cause you to waste up to 6 liters of water every day? Make that a couple of weeks, and that's already 50-80 percent of the cost to heat water. 

9. Schedule Regular Maintenance

When it comes to maintaining appliances and other systems in your home, regular maintenance is vital. 

Scheduling regular maintenance allows the heating system of your home to run more efficiently. It also ensures that it's not working as hard as it needs to get the results that you need. 

Meanwhile, poorly maintained appliances or heating and cooling systems use a lot of energy. This can hurt the environment and can cause your energy bills to skyrocket. 

10. Use Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products

Another change that you can make to reduce your carbon footprint is to switch to using more eco-friendly cleaning products. 

Many cleaning products today contain chemicals and toxins. So, even if they do a good cleaning job, they can cause substantial damage to the environment and your health. 

Luckily, you can always opt for green cleaning products. After all, there are plenty of options that you can choose from nowadays. This is thanks to many manufacturers who now realize the importance of making this switch. 

If you want, you can even make your DIY cleaning products for a meager cost, using products like baking soda, lemon juice, or white vinegar.

11. Switch Off Unused Appliances

While it's easy to leave your electronics unplugged even if you're not using them, it would be best to switch off and unplug them when not in use.

You probably make it a habit to leave electronics such as television or laptops on standby mode. While they are not exactly working, they are still consuming energy.

That said, it would still be ideal to turn your appliances and gadgets off when not in use. It can also help with reducing your power consumption by unplugging your appliances and devices. 

Make sure that you switch off the lights before you leave the room as well. Over time, these small changes can eventually make a big difference. 

Over to You

These eco-friendly upgrades in your home allow you to lower your carbon footprint while sprucing up your house.

Sure, home renovation can be costly. But consider how you can recoup those costs by being sustainable. Plus, you get to do your part in saving the environment.

Author Bio: Jacky Xu is the Chief Operating Officer at Maid Sailors Maid Service Chicago. Maid Sailors take pride in providing unparalleled cleaning services at affordable prices and will help transform your house into a home.

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