Earth Day 2024: Three Top Tips To Make Your Home More Environmentally Friendly

The 22nd of April is Earth Day, an internationally recognised day that aims to raise awareness about the vital need to protect our planet.

For South Africans who are keen to take part in a collective push for a greener tomorrow, there are a host of sustainable solutions that can be retrofitted into your home. Orlando Luis, CEO of BRIGHTS Hardware, offers some advice on three easy solutions that you can install to celebrate Earth Day.

1. Have a lightbulb moment

“Switching from incandescent lightbulbs to LED lightbulbs can help save energy and ultimately, the environment. By changing the light bulbs in your home, you can reduce your carbon footprint, and lower your electricity bills.”

“When compared with incandescent bulbs, LED bulbs consume up to 90 percent less power. Another key benefit associated with LED lighting is the fact that the bulbs can last 10 to 20 times as long. This means there is less waste going to landfills – think of all the billions of light bulbs that end up in refuse dumps!” says Luis, who goes on to unpack another environmental benefit of LED bulbs – the fact that they are free from toxic chemicals, whereas most conventional bulbs contain numerous materials that are bad for the environment, such as mercury.”

“By switching from incandescent to LED, you are helping to reduce carbon emissions, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, reduce toxic chemicals and waste to landfills, and save money. When you take all these benefits into account, it is not hard to see why LED lights are the way to go!”

2. Reduce your water use

According to Luis, every day the average household flushes hundreds of litres of reusable grey water down the drain. “Installing a simple grey water system can divert the water from the shower, bath, basin and washing machine – which can be reused for garden irrigation. Greywater systems are relatively easy and cost-effective to install and your water costs will decrease, as you are recycling water to use in the garden.”

Luis explains that the easiest way to utilise grey water in your garden is to re-route the pipes that usually carry the water from the bath, shower or washing machine into the sewer system, into a grey water storage tank which is connected to a pump and an irrigation system, and directs water into the garden. “There are a range of DIY options available depending on your needs and budget.”

Another way to reduce the amount of water that your household consumes is to harvest rainwater to use for garden irrigation, washing laundry, flushing the toilet, filling up the pool, washing cars, and as a general off-grid/alternative supply of water.

“Installing a rainwater harvesting system is relatively simple,” says Luis. “You can start with some plastic barrels placed at the end of your gutter downpipes to catch the roof runoff. A bigger solution is to install a rainwater tank – or several – and to re-route your gutter system to channel the rainwater into these tanks,” says Luis. “Tanks come in a wide range of colours, styles and capacities to suit all budgets, spaces and needs. Another easy environmentally friendly water-wise solution that can be quickly installed is a water-saving showerhead.”

3. Harness the power of the sun

Going solar has been a hot trend in South Africa for a while due to ongoing load-shedding, but the other major benefit of installing and using solar power is that it is also good for the environment.

“For those who have the budget, installing a solar PV system on the roof of your home is a great solution to keep the power on without using as much electricity from the grid,” advises Luis. “Another great idea to reduce electricity use is to change over to a solar-heated geyser.”

“In addition to this, there are a wide range of solar-powered lighting options on the market today. These vary from solar-powered spotlights and security lights to solar garden lighting, pool lights, and portable solar lanterns. Solar-powered lighting is a great solution in a sun-rich country such as ours – there is no cost to recharge them, and many are practically ‘set and forget’ and will come on automatically after sundown.”

“These are just a few solutions available that will allow people to reduce the energy consumption and footprint of their homes, and do their part to celebrate Earth Day every day of the year. There are a host of other innovations available these days to make homes more environmentally friendly and sustainable, from plumbing to electrical and lighting, heating and cooling, interiors and paint solutions – to name only a few, and we have expert staff in all our stores to offer advice and tips on these and more,” concludes Luis.

BRIGHTS Hardware stores are found in Boston, Blackheath, Langebaan, Mitchells Plain, Richmond Park, Plattekloof, Stonewood, Brackengate and Sunningdale. You can also shop online at www.brights.co.za which offers delivery to anywhere in South Africa. BRIGHTS also offers same-day delivery in the Western Cape for products purchased online.