Kitchen Remodel? Go Green!
Eco-friendly kitchen design can make all the difference in energy savings and in doing your part to help our environment. The kitchen uses most of your house’s energy supply so it is the BEST place to go green!
Windows, appliances and cabinet refacing are just a few things to consider designing with purpose and intent during your kitchen remodeling process to make your kitchen both beautiful AND environmentally sound. Here are some ideas:
Lock in Heat and Save Money with Better Windows and Skylights
Saving on your heating costs in the winter by investing in new windows with better seals and materials. Old windows can allow for too much air and drafts to enter your home driving up your heating costs and drying out your living environment. The colder your home, the more you will be tempted to use precious fuels to heat your home. By trapping in warmth with high-quality windows (and professional installation) you can save BIG each month during the winter.
Also, consider installing skylights to naturally light AND give warmth to your home. Skylights can add both style and function to your kitchen while saving energy and money. Start a new trend wherever you live with better windows and skylights incorporated naturally into your design.
Swap Out Regular Bulbs for High Efficiency Compact Fluorescent Lights
One of the biggest (and easiest) ways to alter the atmosphere of your home is with your light bulbs. Standard fluorescent lights are not only terribly outdated but they bring down the value of your kitchen design by shinging a dullness over everything.
Replacing old, outdated fluorescent lights with compact fluorescent lighting, is four to five times more energy efficient than incandescent lighting, and elevates the look and warmth of the most important room of your home.
Give Your Cabinets a Facelift – Reface or Refinish
Kitchen cabinets can make a BIG statement in your kitchen so they are worth careful thought and planning in the design stages of your kitchen remodeling or design project.
Instead of breaking the bank–and using up more environmental materials by buying brand new cabinets–consider cabinet refacing and refurnishing. Refacing and refurnishing saves you thousands of dollars while also saving environmental material use.
Help reduce your local landfills by using-up what is still usable in your kitchen design. Cabinets can be brought to brand-new standards with a simple refacing or refinishing treatment.
Invest in Energy Star Appliances
Energy-efficient appliances have come a LONG way in recent years due to the incredible amount of savings and popularity of these household staples. New and improved sleek designs can save you money while they save the environment by reducing pollution and greenhouse gases generated by energy production at power plants.
Visit the Energy Star website to learn more about Energy Star appliances and where you can purchase them.
Assess Your Current Plumbing Fixtures
How long has it been since your plumbing fixtures were updated? If you have had your current fixtures for as long as you can remember, it is time for an upgrade. Plumbing fixtures that were installed before 1992 have long since been replaced with better, more eco-friendly counterparts.
Now, we don’t recommend replacing plumbing fixtures just because they are old, but because with that antiquity comes some money-wasting inefficiency.
Old plumbing fixtures use up much more water than necessary and are prone to leak leading to uneccesary water wasting Low-flow products let you easily control water use while helping you have more control on how much you spend on water each month!
These changes may seem small, but they can make a huge difference in environmental health–especially as more and more people join the movement to be more eco-friendly with their home design. Be a trendsetter and go green with your kitchen design–your pocketbook will thank you, and so will your grandchildren.