Who said “going green” couldn’t apply to apartment communities? You may not be investing thousands in getting solar panels, but there are still ways that you can be more environmentally aware and bring your tenants in on the action. Incorporating eco-friendly practices can help everyone in your community be more conscious of their electricity and water usage as well as how much waste they produce. Reducing these can lead to less cost in trash removal and lower utility bills, making it a win-win for everyone.

At Top Floor Insurance, we scoured our online resources, tapped into some of our clients who are leading the way in making their apartment communities greener than ever to bring you the top five easiest ways to make your property more environmentally friendly.

#1 – Change the light bulbs. For any overhead lighting, especially in common areas such as lobbies, hallways, and staircases, switch out the traditional incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). Not only will this reduce your electricity usage, but it will also save you in maintenance costs from having to replace the bulbs as frequently.

#2 – Check your thermostat. You want your tenants to be comfortable all year round, but paying closer attention to your heating and cooling settings is better for the environment. Just by turning your heat down 2 degrees or your air conditioning setting up two degrees can save over 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from being admitted into the air. Educating your tenants about how to use their apartment heating and cooling units is ideal. Having a community-wide initiative to adjust the heat down, or the air conditioning settings up, especially when they are not at home, can save a lot in energy costs and avoid some nasty emissions from being released.

#3 – Install water filter systems. This may seem costly, but it is cheaper than you think. Having a filtered water system installed in each unit and encouraging tenants to use this instead of buying bottled water is an easy way to cut down on waste production. You can even give away water bottles with your apartment communities name or logo on it to kick things off!

#4 – Buy more live plants. Having more plants are very good for the environment. Not only are they pretty to look at, but they are also natural air purifiers and help to reduce pollutants in the air. You may choose to have plants in your lobby, or decoratively placed in hallways, or on outside balcony areas.

#5 – Bring back the clothesline. This one may seem a bit archaic, but it is on the comeback! Some very progressive apartment communities are finding innovative ways to install laundry lines, giving tenants the option to skip the dryer and hang dry their clothes. Not only is this method gentler on your clothes, but it can also significantly cut energy usage.

Going green and being more environmentally conscious is not just for the agricultural industry. As an apartment community owner, you can do your part to implement, even small changes, to your community to make it greener. Simple lifestyle changes like turning off all lights or having automatic sensors that turn them off for you can have a dramatic impact on the amount of energy we use and our overall impact on the environment.

For all things apartment community related, Top Floor Insurance has you covered! Check back to our blog regularly for more articles to stay informed about what’s happening in the world of apartment insurance and everything in between.