5 Ways To Make Your Kansas City Kitchen
Remodel Eco-Friendly

When Remodeling Your New Kitchen, It’s Best To Stay
Environmentally Conscious

In today’s world, it’s great to remain environmentally conscious and aware of your impact on the world around you. Why not extend that awareness to your kitchen remodeling? Remodeling any room of your Kansas City house can create a huge carbon footprint, so it’s important to stay vigilant of the effects.

From the amount of waste produced by the actual remodel to the new and improved updates to your kitchen, there are many ways to do an environmentally responsible kitchen remodel.

Here are five things to make your new kitchen eco-friendly.

1. Invest In Higher Quality Cabinetry

At first glance, this might sound confusing. After all, why should the quality of your new cabinets affect the environment? Well, there are several reasons.

First, better quality usually means less replacement down the line, which cuts down on excessive waste, energy, time, and money.

Choosing higher-quality cabinets from the beginning ensures your money is well spent. No one wants to replace their cabinets every few years when the old ones start to warp or buckle. Better quality cabinets also reduce the amount of wood your kitchen requires, helping to refurbish natural forests.

Also, choosing higher-quality cabinets means less use of questionable and possibly toxic chemicals in your kitchen. Many cheaper cabinets are made with plywood, pressed wood, fiberboard, or particleboard, often held together with formaldehyde-containing glues.

Breathing in these toxic chemicals can harm you and your family, but opting for cabinets that meet a higher standard can prevent this.

2. Install Water Efficient Kitchen Faucets

Though most people think of water waste as coming from the bathroom, kitchens also waste a lot of water and money. Households can use over 3,000 gallons of water yearly from the faucet. But a kitchen remodeling expert can easily change this incredible overuse of water with the right products.

Using kitchen faucets that are EPA WaterSense certified can save billions of gallons of water each year and will also save you money on water bills. Certified WaterSense faucet products reduce water flow by 30% or more from the standard 2.2 gallons per minute flow standard with most faucets.

Conserving water, one of our planet’s most valuable resources, greatly reduces our carbon footprint. You won’t need to sacrifice style or performance for eco-responsibility because many water fixture products can do both.

3. Install Energy Efficient Lighting Fixtures

A kitchen remodel is perfect for installing new lighting fixtures and light bulbs. Finding the right lighting fixtures for your kitchen can help distribute lighting more effectively, brightening up those dark corners.

Replacing old light bulbs with LED lights can tremendously reduce your energy usage. LED light bulbs can last 20 times longer than standard incandescent light bulbs, saving you money on light bulbs each year.

Remodeling your kitchen is also a great time to rethink your floor plan, which can mean allowing in more natural light. Reconfiguring the way your kitchen flows can redirect natural window light lessening the need to turn on artificial lighting.

4. Replace Old Appliances With New Kitchenware

In addition to replacing lighting fixtures and water faucets, kitchen remodels are a great time to replace your old, well-used kitchen appliances with new, more energy-efficient models.

Many older appliance models were not developed with the environment in mind and ended up needlessly wasting a lot of energy.

Kitchen appliances add up to roughly 10% of a home’s total energy cost, so purchasing eco-friendly products is a wise investment. Just by choosing an Energy Star refrigerator, you can reduce your carbon footprint by 8,200 pounds in five years of use. This usage is the equivalent of driving 9,300 miles in your car.

With innovations in electric stoves and oven technology, kitchens can start to rely on reusable and sustainable energy. So, your remodel is the best time to replace your old dishwasher, oven, stove, and refrigerator.

5. Choosing Granite Countertops

Granite countertops and other natural stones are some of the market’s most environmentally friendly countertop options today. Their durability and strength give them years or decades of life. This significantly reduces the need to replace them; less replacement means less waste.

Proper installation and sealing of granite countertops also reduce the harsh chemical cleaning products needed to maintain cleanliness. You can also rest assured that your family will not be breathing in toxic fumes that some other countertop may emit, like VOCs, formaldehyde, and radon.

Choose A Conscientious Kansas City Company For Your
Eco-Friendly Kitchen Remodel

At Jericho Home Improvements, we are highly aware of our company’s impact on the environment and want to help you remain conscious as well. A kitchen remodel is the perfect time to put extra consideration into making your home eco-friendly, and we’re with you the whole way.

We only sell high-quality materials, offer highly skilled installation and contracting services, and have outstanding customer service.

Contact us today for a free kitchen remodel quote!