Murdoch Books - The Home Book

In a hot climate

Paint the exterior of your house with light-coloured paint to help reflect unwanted radiant heat.

Saving water and energy

Conserving water not only takes the strain off your local supplier but also reduces pollution, as processing water requires energy, which in turn creates pollution. Saving water can also save you money as, increasingly, local suppliers are charging for the amount of water a household uses.

Solar energy

Install a solar or energy-efficient hot water heater. Since water heating accounts for up to 50 per cent of a homes energy use, installing a solar heater saves in energy bills as well as pollution.

Sun-powered electricity, harnessed by solar panels on the roof, can run all your houses appliances as well as heat water for the bathroom and kitchen. In a solar hot water heater, the sun directly heats up water in small pipes, which is stored in a tank for later use, usually in conjunction with a gas or electrical heater to boost the temperature of the water. Photovoltaic cells on the roof convert the suns energy to electricity, which can be diverted to the fridge, sound system and washing machine. In some systems, surplus electricity is sent to the main electricity grid.

BATHROOM

The bathroom is the scene of many a water wastage crime taps left on, long showers, deep baths, litres or gallons of water on its way to the sewage treatment plant every time you flush the toilet. Whether you think this matters or not may depend on the source of your water when it just keeps on coming out of the tap, you may not give it a second thought until the water bill arrives, but when you rely on a rainwater tank, for instance, the inconvenience of running out may motivate you to be more careful about your water usage.

Water-efficient showers

The shower is the largest user of household hot water and accounts for roughly 20 per cent of the greenhouse pollution in the average home, but there are ways to cut your water consumption.

Fit a low-flow shower rose. These use 712 litres (12 gallons) a minute of water, compared with up to 20 litres (4 gallons) a minute with a standard shower rose. Alternatively, fit your current shower rose with a flow restriction disc (a plastic insert).

Take shorter showers. Cutting your shower time from 10 minutes to 5 could save as much as 27,000 litres (5939 gallons) of water a year. And if you cut down from a 5 minute daily shower to a 3 minute one, you could save as much as 40 litres (8 gallons) of water per shower.

TOILET TRICKS

Up to one-third of water used in the home is flushed down the toilet cisterns commonly contain 311 litres (2 gallons) of water.

Save water by fitting a dual flush to your toilet cistern. New models use 6 litres (11/3 gallons) for a full flush, and 3 litres ( gallon) for a half flush.

For a single-flush toilet, reduce the flushing volume by placing an old juice container full of water, or even a brick, in the cistern.

Turn it off

To save water, dont leave the tap running while you brush your teeth turn it on and off as needed.

Improve your ventilation

There are several measures you can take to improve the ventilation in your home.

Fit extractors, also called exhaust fans, in the bathroom and kitchen. Exhaust fans need to be discharged to the outside air and not to an enclosed garage, where they can cause condensation, mould and rot. They are useful in wet rooms such as bathrooms as well as in garages and workshops, where they can remove fumes.

Install an overrun timer on the extractor fan in very steamy bathrooms.

Fit air grilles, also known as trickle ventilators, into the window frames of living rooms and bedrooms.

Maintain air-conditioning systems, especially filters.

LAUNDRY

Washing clothes and household linen in mainly cold water reduces both heating costs and energy consumption.

Pre-soaking heavily soiled or stained garments minimises the need to use hot water and harsh chemicals.

Full loads or half-load settings waste less water and detergent, and the fast spin setting reduces the drying time.

Using concentrated detergents reduces the amount of chemicals released into the environment, and the correct dosage cuts out waste. Non-biological powder can be used if a household member has sensitive skin.

Peg out the washing rather than using your dryer the sun and wind are free.

Using a range of natural stain removers keeps clothes looking good and cuts down on dry-cleaning costs.