Contributed by Rachel Jensen 

Deciding to be eco-friendly takes a lot of life improvement and a lot of commitment. It means you have to be determined to stay green and reduce your carbon footprint.

Whilst it can be hard to maintain a green life, there are plenty of options in place for having a green home or an eco friendly one.

Little did many of you know, the current appliances in your house may actually be really bad for the environment and be the complete opposite to eco friendliness.

 

Too much energy is a huge cause for CO2 emissions, therefore using appliances that are energy efficient or use renewable energy resources would be a brilliant step to helping the environment. Similarly, searching for products that use solar power or natural energy will also be beneficial in keeping an eco friendly lifestyle.

There are many appliances on the market that you could invest in for your home that will save money and the environment. It is worth keeping in mind that it may be impossible to find any appliance that is completely green, but there are definitely appliances that are close to that!

Here are our top 6 choices:

1. Washing Machines

Over the years, washing machines have become much more efficient in terms of how quickly they wash loads and how quiet they have become.

Washing machines are expected to clean our laundry to perfection, but we also like to think that we can do this in a way that isn’t having a bad effect on the planet.

The average washing machine uses electricity to heat the water, causing an increase in the cost of your bills after every load.

Energy efficient washing machines are evident on the market because they tend to have an energy saver status and a rating. A high energy efficient washing machine will have an ‘A’ rating. The best machines for energy saving will usually be marked with a ‘A+++’ this means it will be a perfect addition to your home. [editor’s note: in the US look for Energy Star certified appliances]

2. Energy Efficient Chairs

I know it may sound crazy, but chairs can actually save energy with new combination designs. Some chairs are invented to be used as a charging port or some form of power outlet. Because of this, more scientists and designers are taking designs to reform them into eco-friendly versions.

The EMPower is a rocking chair that collects all the kinetic energy from the motion of the rocking, and stores it in the battery that lies underneath the chair. The battery fills up with energy so that it can use the natural energy to charge through a USB output. Another credential of this chair is the fact that it can be produced using recycled materials, the perfect green chair!

Another chair that uses a similar concept is the Move Your Energy chair, which is designed as a modern looking rocking chair that stores the kinetic energy to light up the overhead LED lamp, this is instead of using a bed-side lamp during reading time. So this chair is a great design for relaxing and reading in style and comfort while remaining environmentally friendly.

3. Workspaces

When you have an office space or a specific location in your home that you use to work in, you most likely have a lot of papers and electronics there. It is important to reduce this clutter as arguably, an office space can hold the most environmentally harmful things in one small space.

When you think about the amount of un-recycled paper lying around and the computers and printers, it can be a satisfying thought to imagine a small work space that has everything you need – as well as being eco friendly.

The mobile workspace is a wooden chair and table set, surrounded by a wooden canopy. This is a design made for those who like to work in an outdoor area – very unique but brilliant!

The canopy that is built on top protects you from the rain (obviously) and also collects energy with the in built solar cells that transform into energy on the base of the table, keeping your laptop running all day!

Eco friendly printers can be purchased similarly to the washing machine, as it also has an energy efficient rating on it.

A printer of this sort uses recycled ink cartridges and toners. It is easy to get hold of these and they will be a great addition to your eco friendly home!

4. TVs

One of the ways you can stay green at a cheaper price is to always keep your old one and make any required repairs. However, buying a green one can also be possible at a reasonable price. Although televisions will always use energy, you can buy some that save some amounts.

Sony are working on producing more TVs that have a motion sensor, we all know how easy it is to make the mistake of leaving the television on and Sony TVs will detect when nobody is around and shut down the application. Tvs like this save 40 percent less energy than normal ones!

5. Music Device

This one can seem quite obvious, but there are many other ways to play music than a big boom box or a huge stereo system. Playing music all day through a sound system uses unbelievable amounts of energy when you are leaving it on whilst you clean or dance.

The attachable music player works like a much more eco friendly mp3 player. It attaches to your arm like a plaster and generate energy through body heat. This makes it a fantastic device to use during running, cooking or even when you are tucked up in bed! You switch it on and then you let the device do the rest for you.

6. Kettles

Energy efficient kettles are beneficial to those that like their cups of teas regularly! These types of kettles can be easily adapted to turn green and a lot of it is down to you to change!

First things first, an eco friendly kettle has a much clearer water level, this should encourage you to put the right amount of water in so that it takes less energy to boil if you only have one mug to fill.

They are also fitted with a temperature reader to stop people from re-boiling the kettle when they think it is not hot enough. A simple yet great way of saving energy!

Investing in some of these appliances and electronics could make your home much greener and initially you will turn yourself into an eco-friendly person!

What do you think of this blog? What other appliances are eco-friendly? Let us know in the comments

This blog post was written by Rachel Jensen on behalf of Conwy Valley Plumbing, the plumbing, gas and heating installers.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock