July is set to be the hottest month on record. We’ve seen wildfires in Greece, raising ocean temperatures, and heatwaves in the US and wider Europe. So, it’s true to say that the effects of climate change are upon us, and hopefully we can use that as an impetus to radically change our contribution to it.
However, we’re not here to discuss that issue on a wider level. Instead, we’re here to help you deal with the effects of climate change. Thankfully, there are some preparations you can make that will help you feel less stressed and worried about the upcoming summers and extreme weather.
In this post, we’ll discuss how to make investments to prepare for climate change within your household. If you can set up a few provisions ahead of time, this can help you deal with the worst effects and help your home remain a refuge.
Without further ado, let’s begin:
Supporting Sustainable Brands
When investing in your household, it’s good to support sustainable brands. That might involve sustainable smart home brands, using sustainable building materials such as hemp bricks, or green roof and green wall brands.
This way, even if your home only makes marginal changes, you will have used the power of your purchasing pound to help cultivate a fantastic new norm in your household. In some cases, you may even decide to opt for sustainable efforts yourself, like using reclaimed wood to border your vegetable garden or sourced stones to craft your garden path.
It’s more effort to do this and takes a little more research, but it can certainly make a big difference.
Planting Trees & Cultivating Your Garden
A treeline can be a fantastic way to bring shade into your garden, and it can also offer a good deal of privacy. Your home is better shielded by more difficult weather effects such as heavy winds when you have trees to break up the windspeed.
Cultivating a garden and compost can also help you sustain a vegetable patch, which helps you remain more self-sufficient. If anything, spending time on cultivating your garden now and nourishing the soil can help prevent it from drying out in certain areas despite the excess heat.
Of course, we’re not suggesting that raised temperatures are about yo cut you off from the global food supply, but it’s always nice to have some vegetables and herbs you have access to for most of the year, and if you have climate anxiety, spending time in a green space can certainly help soothe that stress and solidify your connection to nature.
Solar Panels & Renewables
Adding solar panels to your household will always be a wise investment, and now, even though it sounds like a cynical point, warmer weather will improve its general utility. As summers stretch on for longer, you may be able to cut into your energy bills and lessen your dependence on the power grid thanks to such an investment.
Moreover, renewable energy installations such as solar panels are becoming cheaper by the year, meaning that finding a great deal will allow those panels to pay for themselves sooner than you may imagine.
Upgrading Insulation
Upgrading the insulation in your household will improve its energy efficiency. It can also prevent heat from getting in. of course, during the winter periods then heating your home will also be easier, as the heat won’t escape through the walls or roofing as easily.
This means that you’ll pay for less electricity, which is going to help protect against climate change too. If you have a wood burner, you may use that less thanks to heating being spread evenly throughout the home. This means such an investment is a win-win no matter what time of the year you find yourself in.
Non-Toxic Home Products
The more you can convert to eco-friendly brands, the lesser your impact on the environment is. That can also go for purchasing non-toxic home products such as cleaning goods and utilities such as washing up liquid.
You can also reduce your reliance on plastic by buying concentrated liquids for washing up or disinfectants, meaning that you won’t have to continually buy bottles each time. The more people do this, the less plastic is used and the more sustainable brands are supported and gain a wider market share.
Energy-Efficient Appliances
When purchasing an appliance, we tend to look for the different features we need, the aesthetics that fit in our home, and the compatibility with other appliances we may need to use.
Another worthwhile characteristic to consider is that of energy efficiency. Often, manufacturers will align with the energy standard ratings of your nation’s regulatory body. So for example, your appliance’s energy efficiency may be rated from A to G with A being best and G being worst.
It might not cause you to choose one appliance over another, but it’s certainly something to consider. If you find two good televisions at similar price points, you might select the more efficient model that requires less power and has better standby or auto-turnoff features when needed.
Of course, some appliances will also need to be installed to assist you with differing temperatures. That’s why we’re noticing HVAC installation rising in the UK and even in northern areas.
Porches & Carports
Stepping into a hot car is unlikely to be your idea of fun, but of course, when heat is more common, so is the desire to park your car in the shade. As such, carports can be a worthwhile installation, as they provide round-the-clock shade.
If you’d prefer to make the most of your garden space, investing in an overhang porch is also worth your time. This will ensure guaranteed space and also give you room to entertain, all located within the shady comfort you can depend on throughout the day.
Climate-Friendly Landscaping
You may find that climate-friendly landscaping can help you contend with extreme weather. Climate change isn’t only going to cause hot summers, but also intensive winters and rains. That means developing better water runoff as part of your garden design can prevent water from pooling around your property and causing damage or soil erosion.
A good example of this is a rain garden, an area where the water flows into a shallow and sunken part of the landscape. This can then filter and store the water through appropriate plants and soil. Not only does this look great, but it accounts for any overspill that your usual drainage methods may not have accounted for, or been able to handle in the face of extreme downpour.
To conclude, it’s true that climate change will affect us all to some degree. We’ve already seen hot summers, record-breaking temperatures around the world, and while July has been rather mild for most people this year, that’s not always going to be the case.
While it’s important to soothe your climate anxiety and realize there are certain steps we could all take to make this outcome more favorable for us all, it’s also wise to invest in your home to prepare and make sure those provisions are ready in advance.
This way, with installations like renewable appliances and air conditioning units, you won’t have to scramble to make those adjustments in the middle of changing weather. Moreover, the act of preparing can be stress-soother in itself, ensuring that no matter what, you’re always going to have your own home to enjoy and raise your family well in.
With this advice, we hope you can take a few steps in that direction.
