There will never come a day where people will stop needing oxygen, food, or shelter. Though this is the case, with some well-planned renovations to your abode, you can make choices that not only help to protect the Earth, help support nature, but will also make your living costs more affordable and more sustainable for the long run.

Become the ultimate tree-hugger. Support birds and bees, while reducing the cost of maintaining your home with these Earth-friendly home upgrades.

More insulation for your home, means lower electricity and gas bills since your home will not only stay warmer in the winter, but also remain cooler in the summer with the plants on your roof shading the house from the hot summer sun.

Planted roofs also help with keeping falling leaves and other debris out of sewer systems by catching leaves before they can reach the ground and keeping them among the root systems of the plants on the planet roof. They can further protect the roof of your home by cushioning the impact of any falling branches or trees that tend to fall over during heavy winds, thunderstorms, or if you’re in Memphis like I am, the seasonal tornadoes.

Green roofs also have the benefit of adding food, habitat, and additional shelter for Birds, bees, bats, and other creatures who not only provide their pest control services for free, but help produce food that is edible for human beings. In fact, green roof are being used in some parts of the world specifically for growing food, which is an excellent option for people who may not have enough land to grow enough food to feed themselves or a family. This makes planted roofs in excellent function stacking option to reduce food costs by providing more space for food to be grown.

Additional options for green roofs include growing plants that can be used for basket weaving or for the creation of fiber that can be woven into fabric period plants like these include reeds, Sweet Flag, banana plants, jute, among others. Green roofs might be one of the best options for increasing the sustainability while reducing the amount of money it takes to keep your home comfortable throughout hot summer months and cold Winters, especially when you consider that you can also cut costs on groceries by growing food on top of your house.

When you are looking to upgrade your HVAC system to something that not only saves you money on your electric and gas bills but also does great good for the environment, you need look no further than having a wood heat stove installed. Because growing trees is a completely renewable source of energy that can be turned into heat necessary to Stave off the winter cold, then the ashes can be used as fertilizer for the garden, which helps to grow more trees which can in turn be used to produce more heat for cooking or for the warming of a house, going back in time by upgrading your home heating system to a wood stove is doing a wonderful deed for the environment.

To further increase your financial savings, the government is also offering a financial incentive for people who switch their heating systems to wood stoves period the way this works is that when you file for your taxes, you get a reimbursement on the cost associated with buying and installing your wood heat or cook stove. Wildwood cook stoves also qualify this tax incentive, they are not as efficient as wood stoves that are only used to heat your home. You can do further research on the balance between efficiency and the utility of having a multi-use wood cook stove versus a wood heat stove and decide what is best for your home.

Wood heat stove manufacturers have risen to the challenge wood stoves that are not only very efficient at producing heat from wood, but are also aesthetically pleasing, making them a lovely place to build your living room around, or perhaps a little reading Nook will suit your wood heat stove and your home a little better.