5 High-Tech Ways to Make Your Home Greener | Digital Asia
Guest post by Jewel Brookfield
Here at Clean Malaysia we’ve already established the importance of implementing environment-friendly practices at home, be it through habits, design changes, or modern technology.
It’s all important stuff, but we’d like to take a closer look at that third aspect – technology. After all, recent years have seen many advancements in green technology for the home, making today an exciting time for homeowners looking to greenify their house.
1. Save Water with a Specialized Shower System
Startup company Nebia has created a shower system that turns water into millions of tiny droplets, consuming an impressive 70% percent less water than a regular shower head. The company has been shipping units worldwide since January 2017. Gizmodo’s review on the Nebia shower compares the experience to standing inside a storm cloud that can wash away soap suds.
2. Keep the Air Clean with a Smart Air Purifier
All air purifiers allow you to control the air quality in your home. But what differentiates these high-tech purifiers is that these ones can track which toxins are prevalent inside the house, as well as which times of the day the air quality is at its best and worst. With this data, an owner can then adjust the settings of the air purifier for the best outcomes at any time of the day.
3. Start Composting with High-Tech Food Recycler
The Zera Food Recycler boasts a system takes your food waste and turns it into a ready-to-use fertilizer in 24 hours. It also has an app that lets owners check the progress of the composting cycle, the state of the filter, and how full the recycler is. This exciting new appliance is slated for a commercial launch sometime in 2018.
4. Reduce Power Usage with Smart Plugs
Smart plugs can be installed into regular wall outlets and usually come with an app. With this technology, homeowners can control whatever device is plugged into the smart plugs, even when they’re not in the vicinity. Hence, these smart plugs allow you to conveniently address your energy usage by switching off appliances or electronics that aren’t in use, wherever you may be.
5. Save Energy with Solar Roofs
Solar roofs were recently introduced to markets via Tesla, and several customer installations are already up and running! According to the company, these roof tiles are designed to improve electricity savings for decades, thanks to a tempered glass material that can withstand wear and tear. However, Electrek checked in with a Tesla Solar Roof customer for their thoughts on the product, and they were disgruntled by how much it cost and how long it took to install.
Beyond Greening Your Home
Although the technologies cited above can work to help homes become greener, environmental issues are as much of a concern to governments as they are to the global population. Hence, it’s important for countries to enforce laws and policies that directly tackle these issues and encourage widespread adoption of green practices. For instance, Malaysia provides tax incentives and other benefits to residents who incorporate green technologies into their homes or commercial buildings. Meanwhile, Singapore resorted to an urban planning approach by establishing green buildings. This is to make up for the state’s lack of natural resources.
In other countries, green regulations are also implemented across a number of sectors. The US federal government mandates the use of electronic logging devices (ELDs) for commercial vehicles. Verizon Connect outlines that ELDs help reduce fuel wastage by monitoring driver behavior, fuel wastage and propose fuel efficiency solutions. The device can send alerts for when a driver is idling or driving aggressively. This encourages commercial drivers to make smarter use of fuel and help reduce their carbon footprint.
All in all, public and private institutions must work together to establish environmentally-friendly practices and continue to put innovative green strategies in place. Malaysia and the rest of the world have a long way to go in saving resources. And while changes in households may sound small, they can have a huge impact on environmental restoration and protection when done together. If the majority of homeowners transition to green practices, it can help prompt the business world to adopt energy-saving and eco-friendly habits as well.
Check out our home page for more Malaysian news on green practices and innovations.