Easy Green Practices Equate to Sustainable Vacation Homes
Today, many consumers not only accept, but value green practices. Your vacation rental guests may appreciate and welcome signs you are trying to be more green. There are actually many ways to quickly enhance your home’s sustainability. The best part is, when you make your vacation home sustainable, you begin reducing your carbon footprint and saving the world, while often saving money!So, what are some green practices you can do to make your vacation home sustainable?
Encourage Your Guests to Be Eco-friendly
Your guests can take many small actions that can add up to significant reductions. Stock your vacation home with reusable grocery bags to encourage guests not to use un-recyclable grocery bags. Provide bikes to promote self-transportation and reduce automobile carbon emissions. Place fun notes around the house to support turning off faucets, switching off lights, and adjusting the thermostat when not in the house to help your guests feel better about themselves and reduce your utility bill.
Light Blubs
LED lights are environmentally friendly and are up to 80% more efficient than traditional lighting such as fluorescent and incandescent light bulbs. Incandescent bulbs or compact fluorescent bulbs are inefficient and contain toxic elements. Making the switch is easy and has major long-term benefits. Furthermore, installing motion-sensor switches or lights will remove the issue of leaving lights on!
Natural Lighting
You can save up to 10% of energy on your heating bill when you open the blinds. Opening the blinds allows sunshine to come into your home to heat the surrounding areas. Not to mention, everyone can use a little more Vitamin-D :)
Natural Cleaning Products
Instead of buying traditional cleaning products, stock your vacation home with more natural solutions. Click here to see a list of organic solutions that avoid the use of harmful chemicals.
Organic Sheets
Cotton linens account for 25% of the world’s insecticide use! Plus, when you support organic cotton, you also support organic farming, lower carbon emissions, safer work environments, no use of toxic chemicals, and a product that can be renewed and recycled.
Maintenance and Cleaning
Cleaning refrigerator coils can extend the life of the refrigerator while making it more efficient. Cleaning lint out of dryer hoses helps dryer efficiency and reduces the potential for fire. Make sure ceiling fans are going in the right direction. Find more maintenance and cleaning tips here!
Smart Thermostat
These amazing bits of technology were brought up on another blog called ’10 Quick and Easy Vacation Rental Improvements to Increase Bookings’. Nest’s thermostats are simple to use and have proven energy savings that can pay for itself in two years or less!
Low-flow Water Fixtures
Low-flow technology is commonly found in toilets and showerheads. Installing a low-flow toilet can substantially reduce your vacation home’s water consumption as flushing toilets account for 30% of total indoor water use. Installing a low-flow showerhead can save a family of four 160,000 liters of water annually.
Other Ways
There are many other green practices to make your vacation home more sustainable. Some may take more effort or a contractor to install, such as energy-efficient windows, solar panels, and light-colored paints.
So next time you plan on returning to your vacation home to spend some time or do some work, consider these green practices. And don’t be surprised if you begin to feel better about yourself, your utility bills drop, and you get some customer reviews praising your sustainable vacation home!
