Set refrigerators slightly warmer

It doesn’t have to be that chilly: Many refrigerators are set far too cold. This doesn’t necessarily keep food fresh for longer – but your carbon footprint suffers: Setting it just one notch warmer can save over 5 KG of CO2 per year! By the way, the ideal temperature in the middle of your refrigerator is 6 to 7 degrees Celsius. For the freezer compartment, -18 degrees is ideal.

Facade and roof insulation, installation of insulating windows

A well-insulated house can save over a ton of CO2 a year – this is where you can make really big steps in your CO2 footprint! Modern thermal insulation composite systems for your exterior walls, a good roof insulation and insulated windows also often pay for themselves after just a few years. In addition to classic insulating materials such as polystyrene and glass wool, natural and recycled materials are increasingly being used, which also have very good thermal insulation properties and are also particularly environmentally friendly in terms of production and disposal.

Avoid and recycle plastics

A “classic” of modern environmental orientation: plastic avoidance. As much as it is being discussed, it is often difficult to implement in everyday life. While the cloth bag is part of every good purchase, it is often much more difficult to do without plastic packaging when picking products. Even if you can leave any outer packaging in the store – it is of course better not to produce any in the first place. Modern store concepts, such as the “Unpacked” movement, start precisely here:Customers bring jars and cans and have them filled on the spot – and voilà, another packaging saved. Last but not least: Everything that enters the house in plastic goes into the recycling garbage can after use, and not into the residual waste.

LED light bulbs

Modern LED light sources require only one fifth of the power of conventional lighting technology. In addition, they are extremely durable – with a use of three hours a day, high-quality LEDs achieve a service life of about 25 years.

Although LED lamps have become much more affordable, few households still opt for efficient lighting with LEDs. Yet replacing just one 60-watt filament bulb with an LED bulb can save 16 euros per year.

PV for power generation

Photovoltaic systems on your own roof are not only free of CO2 emissions, they also have many other advantages: they produce electricity even when there is little sunlight and enable a power supply that is independent of the local power grid. Produced electricity can be used at night and/or in bad weather by means of solar storage. In contrast to fossil and renewable fuels, there are no transport costs and emissions. They are also quiet, require little maintenance and have a relatively long service life. Are there any disadvantages? Well, there is one: If the sun doesn’t shine, there’s no electricity.

Energy-efficient devices

New electrical appliances often consume significantly less energy than their predecessors, so from an environmental point of view, a new purchase is often already worthwhile. For example, an LED TV consumes less than half the energy that an older plasma TV does. And the larger the screen, the more electricity is required during operation: With twice the screen diagonal, four times as large an area is illuminated.

By the way, since spring 2021 there are new energy labels, with a tightening of the criteria. Thus, A+++ devices may now become C-class. The reason for this: Modern appliances are now so economical in terms of electricity or water consumption that the upper efficiency classes have increasingly lost their significance.

Drink tap water

Tap water is not only better than its reputation – it is also particularly climate-friendly. According to the Federal Environment Agency, drinking tap water produces less than one percent of the environmental impact of bottled mineral water. And the quality is not necessarily worse than that of mineral water – quite the opposite. And – it is also much cheaper. However, drinking water that has been in the tap for more than four hours should not be used for preparing food and beverages. Drain the water and do the “finger test”: fresh water is noticeably cooler than so-called “stagnant water”.

Shorten shower time

Long showers are often very relaxing – but also not particularly climate-friendly. From a hygienic point of view, a short shower is usually absolutely sufficient, and is even often more skin-friendly than long contact with soap and hot water. Three minutes with a water saving shower head, instead of nine minutes shower time, reduce the CO2 consumption of showering from approx. 9 KG to 1.5 KG. The climate is happy – you will still be fresh and clean.