How to Calculate and Cut Your Home’s Eco Impact

Getting a handle on home energy costs can seem overwhelming. But a new generation of online tools can help make greening your household faster, easier, and more effective.

Have you been curious about the impact that your home has on the environment? Maybe you’ve tried carbon calculators, but weren’t sure what to do with the results? If this sounds like you, check out Los Angeles-based LowImpactLiving.com.

The easy to use site provides a breakdown of the resources a typical home in your area uses, as well as waste produced. Though the company is working on a personalized tool to calculate an individual home’s impacts, I found this generic version useful because the results are taken to the next level: how to reduce resource usage and waste production. Specific projects are recommended, including links to applicable products that you can buy directly through the site. Perhaps most useful though, are the resulting costs, impacts, and returns on your investment for each project.

Going step-by-step

The list of projects recommended can be overwhelming, so the site provides a filter to allow you to select the categories you’re most interested in improving: energy, water/water pollution, global warming, or waste/trash. You can also indicate how much you’re willing to spend to make improvements, how long you’re willing to wait to recoup your investment, and whether you’re a do-it-yourselfer or would prefer to hire a contractor. Once you select from the resulting list, a link provides specific product information for that project.

According to the company, products are screened before their inclusion on the site: “We look for manufacturers and products that use natural and/or organic inputs; do not emit toxins or other unhealthy byproducts; practice sustainability in the sourcing of their inputs (e.g., use Forest Stewardship Council guidelines for procuring wood); are conscious about the environmental impacts of their packaging and distribution; and help you reduce your overall environmental impacts.” This information is reassuring, as the company surely draws revenue for the listing or sale of these products. A directory of contractors and service providers is also available.

Finding help

For those who might like a little more hand-holding, LowImpactLiving also offers on-site environmental impact assessments within California. The company will send an environmental technician to your home to evaluate your impact and make specific recommendations for improvement.

Whichever method you choose, LowImpactLiving provides the information you need. The rest is up to you!