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Eco-Friendly Renting

When it comes to home renovations there’s a familiar problem for renters. On the one hand, the landlord doesn’t pay the bills, so he has little incentive to make improvements such as installing energy-saving and water-saving devices. On the other hand, tenants often don’t know if they will be living in the property long enough to recoup the cost of installing these devices, so they are less likely to pay for them.

That makes it a little harder to make your home environmentally friendly if you are renting. But, as this article explains, there are still many ways to be a green tenant.

Share costs with the landlord

One option for big-ticket items, especially if you expect to be in the property long-term, is to offer to share the cost of fitting new energy and water saving devices with your landlord. You will benefit from lower energy and water bills and your landlord will increase the value of his property.

For instance, with Federal or state government rebates the cost of installing a solar hot water system can be little more than the cost of installing a non-solar system. When your water system needs replacing, tell your landlord you’ll pay this small difference in price. It will cut $100 or more a year off your electricity bills.

Similarly, you might offer to contribute to the cost of installing a rainwater tank, having your roof insulated, fitting skylights and so on.

Cheap steps

Many energy-saving and water-saving fittings cost very little and will quickly pay for themselves quickly in lower bills.  For instance:

•  draft excluder strips below doors cost less than $10 but help improve insulation;
• a water-saving showerhead costs less than $50 but can save you $100 a year by reducing the amount of hot water you use;
• aerating taps also only cost a few dollars but halve the water flow from your taps;
• you can fit a greywater diverting valve to divert water into your garden from the outflow of your washing machine for less than $50;
• energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs only cost a few dollars each;
• a compost bin costs about $60 or $70 – or you can easily make your own compost pile;
• portable fans help keep you cool in summer and use much less electricity than air conditioning.

Take it with you

Most of the small fittings mentioned above can be taken with you when you move. Simply keep any original fittings and replace them when you leave. And if you’re going to take your appliances with you if you move, then it’s worth investing the extra money to buy energy-efficient and water-saving models as well.

Improvise

If your rented home doesn’t have appropriate eco-friendly fittings, then improvise. For instance, if your toilets aren’t dual flush, you can put a full plastic water bottle in the cistern to reduce the water used with each flush. You can stop drafts with cheap door snakes.  Wearing a jumper and a beanie in winter will do more to keep you warm than spending thousands of dollars on heating. And you can simply use a bucket to catch the initial cold water from your shower (or the final rinse from your washing machine - just point the outflow hose into the bucket) and recycle the water in your garden.

Cut out chemicals

Whether you rent or own, it’s easy to reduce toxins in your home. Simply switch to using microfibre mops and chemical-free natural cleaning, bodycare and pest control products. You’ll find a good selection in organic and health stores or online. You can also make your own natural cleaning recipes using simple ingredients such as lemon, vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and eucalyptus oil. Get a fly swatter instead of using fly sprays. Open windows and use pot pourri and essential oil burners rather than air freshener sprays to keep your home smelling nice.

Develop green habits

Being green often involves little more than getting into green habits. For instance:
• dry clothes on the clothes line not in the tumble-dryer;
• shut internal doors so you only heat or cool the room you are in;
• draw curtains or blinds to shade out the sun on hot days, or keep in heat on cold nights;
• turn things off. Don’t leave televisions or computers on standby, turn off taps when cleaning your teeth and turn off lights when leaving a room. 

GreenPower

Finally, buy GreenPower. It adds a few dollars to your electricity bills but you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that all of your home’s electricity has come from renewable sources.