Advice / Tips

Top 6 Sustainable Home Products For Black Friday and Cyber Monday

With Black Friday just around the corner, many people are anxiously searching for the fantastic deals that kick off the holiday season. We certainly love our shopping, and the combination of Black Friday and Cyber Monday has become an important national holiday of sorts. Consider the following statistics:

According to one estimate, American shoppers spent an incredible $5 billion online during Cyber Monday in 2018.
More than 174 million Americans purchased something between the days of Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday in 2017.
Millennials are the biggest spenders in terms of generation, with those aged 24 to 35 spending an average of $419.52 per person in 2017.

Unfortunately, much of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases are unnecessary and excessive. Much of the discussion related to climate change's main "culprits" focuses on fossil fuel companies, the industrial meat industry, cement production, and the like. However, household consumerism might be responsible for 60 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and up to 80 percent of total resource use on a more cultural level. Resisting the desire to purchase things that we don't need is certainly one step towards a more sustainable society.

However, it gets harder and harder to avoid the buzz around Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Instead of merely purchasing yet another excessive electronic device that you will rarely use just because it is on sale, might there be a better way to take advantage of Black Friday sales? There are many sustainably produced household products that not only can make your home more attractive and comfortable but can also save you money.

While you might think you're getting a fantastic deal on that fancy new blender, have you stopped to ask yourself if you need it? Does your current mixer get the job done even though it doesn't have 5,000 settings and can reportedly blend solid bricks? Here's a novel thought: What about skipping the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, taking that money, and spending it on items for your home that will help you SAVE money all year long!

Below, we look at a few of our favorite household products for a sustainable home. These products can save you money, increase your home's energy efficiency and thermal performance, reduce household resource use, and contribute to a lower household carbon footprint.

The Top 6 Household Products to Purchase this Black Friday or Cyber Monday

Each of the household products reviewed below offers a substantial sustainability upgrade to any home. However, just because these items made our list doesn't mean you should instantly log in to your Amazon account and complete the purchase. If you already have a low-flow showerhead, for example, there probably isn't any good reason to invest in product number three reviewed here. Nonetheless, Black Friday deals do save you money, and homeowners might be able to save money on the listed price of each of these products.

By Tobias Roberts, Rise Writer

13 min read

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Ecobee Smart Thermostat

The Ecobee Smart Wi-Fi Thermostat is a great way to help control the heating and cooling requirements of your home. They allow you to save an average of 20-25 percent on energy bills. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) EIA reports that the average American household spent an estimated $581 using natural gas and $1,174 using electricity to heat their homes during the 2018-2019 winter. An Ecobee thermostat only costs $249 and will quickly pay for itself while substantially reducing your household greenhouse gas emissions.

lighting science bedside lamp — Photo Credit: Lighting Science

Lighting Science LED Light Bulbs

If you haven't already switched to LED light bulbs, your home is most likely throwing money down the drain. LED light bulbs are an essential part of a sustainable home as they use about 10 percent of the electricity compared to incandescent bulbs. Lighting Science has taken LED lights one step further to save energy and deliver the perfect amount and type of light to maximize the health benefits. These LED lights may help regulate our bodies' circadian rhythms so that we can be more attentive and awake during the day. They also help us get a restful night's sleep. Lighting Science LED Light Bulbs cost just $2.00 a lightbulb. You can also find bedtime table lamps and LED lights specifically tailored for nursery settings.

Nebia Spa Shower 2.0

Here at Rise, we have written before about the tremendous benefits that come with installing a Nebia Spa Shower 2.0 Showerhead. Though the years have passed and new low-flow showerheads have hit the market, this continues to be one of our favorite additions to the sustainable bathroom. With the Nebia Spa Shower 2.0, you don't have to sacrifice the luxury of a misty hot shower, nor will you end up with bad hair. The Nebia Spa Shower 2.0 atomizes water into millions of tiny droplets with ten times more surface area than your regular showerhead. It also uses 65 percent less water than a typical showerhead. In terms of savings on your energy bill, an electricity-powered household in New York City that takes an average of two, ten-minute showers per day will save $670 in one year using a single $499 shower head.

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Heat Pump Water Heater

Switching to an all-electric home is one of the basic tenets of a sustainable home, and a heat pump water heater can and should be a part of that strategy. Heat pump water heaters have much higher efficiencies than conventional storage or even tank-less water heaters. They can reduce the amount of energy required for water heating. As an added benefit, they also help cool and dehumidify a house during the summer months. Homes that switch from a traditional electric water heater to a heat pump water heater could save up to $490 per year on their utility bill for a six-person household. You can search for the most energy-efficient, Energy Star certified heat pump water heaters here.

Wemo Smart Plug

Smart technology has become a necessity in many homes. It can play a vital role in increasing the energy efficiency of our homes. Some smart home products are superfluous at best. Smart plugs have received much less attention from homeowners but are a relatively inexpensive and easy-to-use addition to a sustainable home. A smart plug is simply a power receptacle that plugs into a traditional electrical outlet in your home. They allow homeowners to integrate plugged-in devices as part of a smart home network. In essence, you can control whatever devices plugged into that outlet from an app on your smartphone or through your virtual home assistant. If you leave for work but realize that you left the coffee pot on, a smart plug can allow you to "unplug" the pot even though you are miles from home. The Wemo Mini Smart Plug costs $21.95 on Amazon.

wireless charger — Photo Credit: Ceasons

Chargers for your Personal Electronics

One-third of all households in the United States own at least three smartphones. Along with laptop computers and tablets, the number of personal electronic devices requiring charging requires a large amount of electricity. It is easy to leave your cell phone or tablet plugged in and charging overnight. Many people keep their laptop continually plugged in even when it has a full charge. Cell phones, tablets, and computers will continue to pull power from the grid when plugged in. Eco chargers are a type of smart technology that will turn itself off when devices are fully charged. These simple devices are inexpensive (one option only costs $12.99 on Amazon) and can save you money, especially if you're the type who continually leaves your phone or laptop plugged in overnight.