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Posts Tagged ‘Dwell’

Sustainable Habits to Adopt this Season

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Eco-Friendly Practices With a Seasonal Twist

Complements of All Holiday Treasures

Complements of All Holiday Treasures

Unfortunately there is no universal formula or “to-do” list to live a more eco-conscious lifestyle. Because there are so many ways to approach designing a more sustainable lifestyle it’s best for households to do an audit on a regular basis to really see where there is room for green improvement.

Timing your eco-lifestyle audit with the change in weather is a great way to ensure you’ve got a customized plan that adapts to the unique seasonal conditions. Below we’ve listed a few of the most popular “green tips” and given them a winter/holiday twist.

Packaging – Avoid purchasing products with too much packaging to go green year round – There are plenty of ways to customize this for the Fall and Winter. Be sure to make a statement when purchasing gifts and ensure they reflect your eco-values. We like this idea from Re-Nest that suggests using apple packaging for ornament storage.

Water Conservation – There’s nothing worse then pulling back the shower curtain or opening the bathroom door after a hot shower and feeling the cold air rush in. At HomeIntel we understand the appeal of long hot shower on a cold day. But with an appropriate exit plan and a little creativity we suggest you push yourself to get out of the shower this winter instead of staying in longer and wasting extra water and the energy used to heat it. We love Dwell’s idea of using a PHID (portable humanoid insulation device).

Energy Efficiency – A big topic when the weather gets colder is how to be energy efficient and have as warm a home as possible. Beyond programmable Thermostats there are a number of efficient options including space-heaters like this one from Vornado. The Daily Green outlines simple practices that make great weekend projects to help homeowners keep the cold out and energy use down.

For more ideas on how to be eco-conscious this winter check out this list of helpful and creative ideas – everything from winterized composting to bringing evergreens indoors to block the drafts.

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The Importance of Water Conservation

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

Exploring the Products and Brands That Are Making It Easier for Consumers to Save Water

Practicing energy efficiency is one of the more popular ways that homeowners are diving into the green living landscape, and though conserving water is equally important and easy to do it’s often overlooked.

When it comes to water conservation, the key is to stop wasting.  In their May issue’s “At Home in the Zone” feature, Dwell points out to readers that there is a big difference between the amount of water we actually need to accomplish every day tasks and the amount of water we are using to do those tasks. 

The reduce, reuse and recycle principles all apply to our water supply, making conserving it one of the easiest ways to go green.  Here are some products that are currently available to help homeowners cut down on their water use and waste:

  • Low flow shower heads: This review of low flow shower heads outlines multiple options with different features that  cater to everything consumers could possibly look for in a shower head, including modern design, perfect water pressure or a no-frills green performance. 
  • Rain collection barrels - With a seemingly endless amount of natural sources of water, it has become harder for society to understand the importance of conserving it. Rain collection barrels help homeowners tap into and use those natural sources in an eco-friendly way.
    Photo Courtesy of thrifyliving.net

    Photo Courtesy of thrifyliving.net

  • Efficient toilets - Dual flush and high efficiency toilets allow homeowners to flush with a clear conscience, knowing that only the water needed for a successful flush is used every time.

Here are two angles to consider when it comes to marketing products that allow homeowners to better conserve water:

  • Cause-message - Join the Fight - With their Save Water America campaign and the launch of a Water Saving Contest, Kohler educated and inspired their audience with the right statistics and info and then empowered them by presenting their products as the solution to the problem.
  • Value- message - Save Money - Waterpik, producers of low flow showerheads, lead their communications efforts with the value message.  Sharing with consumers the environmental and economical benefits of water conservation, their website even provides this simple tool for homeowners to calculate how much money they will be saving with the use of their product.

Features like Dwell’s and charts like this one are real eye openers for homeowners and consumers - just like the rest of the green movement, the key is to share the right information with your consumers and provide a product that will help them take that first small step towards living a greener lifestyle.  

Note: See Kohler’s Save Water America video below. 

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Resources We Love

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

Home Intel Editors Share Our Favorite Magazines, Blogs, Websites and TV Shows

At Home Intel headquarters, our GoogleReaders and RSS feeds are always busting at the seams with new posts and updates from our favorite blogs and websites.  There are so many great information sources available for home and green design, we find our lists growing everyday. 

We think a good resource should provide a variety of information on different topics - whether it’s the newest trends, appliances and product overviews, DIY project ideas or just some beautiful, inspiring photos.

Here’s a quick core sample of some of our favorite resources.

Magazines:  We know a magazine is great when it makes us read it like a book - cover to cover.  We are just thankful these publications have websites we can check for updates between issues.

Blogs:  What makes a design blog great? At Home Intel, we look for blogs with bite-sized posts that provide the right photos, links and lists.  These give us quick but powerful hits of inspiration that we couldn’t mark “read later” if we tried.

Websites: Our favorite websites have organized layouts.  These sites have enough content to keep us lost for days, but we love them because they are so easy to navigate.

TV:  We tried to narrow it down, but it’s just impossible.  We love everything about HGTV and Planet Green.

What are your favorite resources?  Let us know if you think there’s something we’ve missed!

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