This post is a paid advertorial written in collaboration with Hive, however all opinions, words and images are my own.
In case you missed it, Joe and I have just moved into our first home! We reserved our new build house back in November 2020, and finally moved in at the end of April 2021. Buying a house has been a huge goal of ours for the last few years, so it feels surreal to finally be living somewhere we own! The benefits as compared to our previous flat are amazing – you might remember me talking about our old flat being an old building? In a former life it was a pub, and we’ve been told the building was originally from the 1800s. It made for some GORGEOUS original features, but when it came to things like heating, energy efficiency, and electricity bills, it was enough to make your eyes water.
Now we’re in a newer build we have thick walls with lots of insulation, double glazed windows, proper central heating (gas and electric, with a new combi boiler), and lots more. Because of the move, we’re really wanting to take a look at how sustainable we are as a couple, and we’re making the following changes to our lifestyle to make sure we’re living in an eco-friendlier way…
USING LESS PLASTIC
We’ve always been conscious of our plastic use and opt for plastic-free wherever possible. But since moving, we have access to a few more services we intend to use. There’s a local composting company who pick up your food waste and deliver compost for your garden in return, and we’ve also started paying for a local plastic-free milk delivery (oat milk for me, obviously). There’s a lot more we can do here, and I’m really excited to start making some positive changes.
USING SMART HEATING
Joe’s parents have smart heating installed, so as soon as we moved, we bought and set up Hive Active Heating. Because you can control it from your phone, we’re reducing our energy wastage by making sure it isn’t on if we’re out and setting a heating schedule which fits around us. It’s DEFINITELY saving us money, although in our last flat we relied on electric, individually powered, wall-mounted storage heaters so it would be tough to spend more than we were previously spending. We also have zoned heating, so each floor is on a separate thermostat meaning we can be even more sensible with our heat. Being able to control it all from our phones is a total game changer!
MONITORING OUR WATER USE
We’re now on a water meter, so monitoring our water use is as much about saving us cash as it is about sustainability. Not running the tap when brushing our teeth, only filling the sink with as much water as we actually need, little things like this will hopefully make a big difference. I’m also considering picking up a Hive Leak Plan to track our water usage, especially with us having a new build and hearing so many horror stories about leaks after moving in, but I’ll report back as to whether we do or not!
USING SMART HOME DEVICES
I’ve wanted to start making our home smart for years, but it just wasn’t doable in our rented flat. So, when Hive asked if we wanted them to send us some of their Smart Home Devices it was a no brainer.
The benefits of switching to a smart home are endless, but from a sustainability stance the products are exactly what we had in mind. We have some smart bulbs, a smart plug, and a motion detector, and they’re all brilliant in different ways.
The bulbs are brilliant, not only because they’re dimmable so you can have exactly the amount of light you need, but because they’re smart, you can switch them on and off from anywhere. You can even change the colour on them to change the mood of the room, which I love! I prefer a warm light, so it’s nice to be able to have that control. With Hive Smart Lighting you can also set schedules, so they go on and off at different times, even in a random pattern, which is so great from a security perspective.
The smart plug is really handy for things you leave plugged in. I personally love using it for the kettle! Our kettle has a switch on it rather than a button, so I can leave the switch down and turn the kettle off at the plug, then when I want to boil it I can go into the app and turn the smart plug on ready for a brew! I can also ask our Google Home to turn it on for me, which is the level of boujee I’ve always wanted from a home!
We also have a motion detector, which I didn’t realise Hive did until recently. They’re great because you can use them in a tonne of different ways. You can set them to turn lights on or off when they detect motion, or you can use them for security purposes – an alert can be sent to your phone when motion is detected, which is great if you’re at work or away. They can also be attached to windows and doors, then hooked up to your smart heating, so the heating automatically switches off when doors or windows are open.
Thanks to the Smart Home Devices from Hive, living more sustainably is going to be so much easier. I’ll know when lights are left on, I can remotely control the heating, and I can make sure we’re only using what we need, when we need it.
I’m so excited that we now own our home and can choose to live more sustainably. And with the help of companies like Hive, it’s so much easier than you think. How do you ensure you’re living as sustainably as possible? Let me know in the comments!
As someone who’s never lived outside of their family home, I’m still yet to fully grasp quite how much there is to think about when owning a flat or house – I find posts like these so interesting though, as it gets me thinking about all the things I’ll need to consider in the future. I’ll especially be looking into the ability of controlling so much from your phone/outside of the house!