Your backyard can be a source of energy-efficient, eco-friendly and sustainable solutions for your home. If you do these unbelievable renovations, you can create a space that reduces your carbon footprint, eliminates waste and makes the environment a greener place.
The first thing to consider is whether the entrance to your backyard is energy-efficient enough for your standards. Every homeowner should stop dealing with old sliding doors that are not equipped for proper thermal retention and that let air leaks inside of houses — they ruin your indoor temperature and leadto the expensive overuse of heating/cooling energy in your home.
The inferior entrance door should be replaced with a high-quality upgrade from a London doors distributor with a strong commitment to energy-efficiency, waste reduction and the environment. One incredibly qualified door manufacturer London has to offeris Golden Windows — they have gorgeous vinyl sliding patio doors that are built with a variety of features that will help you conserve energy:
- Low-emissivity Glass
- Enhanced Weather Stripping
- Warm Edge Technology Spacers
Another popular way that homeowners tend to waste energy is with their lighting, whether that is for the inside or the outside of their house. There are a number of easy eco-friendly ways to light your backyard so that you get the same level of brightness while using a minimal amount of electricity or using absolutely none at all.
String lights are a beautiful option that will reduce energy consumption, especially if they are made with LED bulbs. There are multiple light options that harness their power from the sun — as long as you place them out of the shade, they should store all of their energy during the day. Tiki torches, lanterns and candles are also exceptional choices because they require absolutely no electricity and they are relatively inexpensive.
The last aspect of your backyard that you should modify in order to be more environmentally-friendly is your garden. It’s clear that adding more plant-life to your property will help clean the air and reduce your carbon footprint. If you are looking to really go green, you should consider eco-friendly gardening ideas like growing your own vegetables and setting up your own personal compost bin for biodegradable waste.
For those who would rather have blooming flowers than rows of carrots and radishes in their backyard, look up the best flowers for your garden — these should be long-lasting, affordable and worth the effort to plant. Some options that have been proven to be smart choices for people with and without natural green thumbs include:
- Pincushion Flowers
- Hosta
- Black-eyed Susans
- Coral Bells
- Bee Balm
- Veronica
- Yarrow
There are so many other changes that you can do to your backyard to make it a greener space, like using reclaimed wood for patio furniture, repurposing items into planters or painting your deck with low VOC paints. Once you realize just how easy it is to get these environmentally-friendly transformations, you won’t be able to stop.