With the climate crisis looming, it’s never been more important to improve our environmental impact when travelling. Thankfully, motorhoming is a relatively greener way to travel when compared to flying abroad, but here are some tips on how to make it even better.
Driving
One of the simplest ways to reduce your carbon emissions not only helps the environment, but also helps your wallet. Before you head off be sure to get your vehicle inspected and pump up your tires. When driving, be sure to drive at or below the speed limit, and also avoid accelerating down hills as coasting is going to be much more fuel efficient. In general, you want to avoid losing momentum if you can, so instead of accelerating and breaking, try taking your foot off the gas a little earlier and letting your car roll to a stop. And of course, lightening your motorhome of unnecessary things that you won’t need for the trip means you’ll burn less fuel when driving too.
Water and Energy Usage
Another thing that has a big impact on the environment is the way we use energy and water while travelling. Heating and aircon uses a lot of energy, so instead consider an awning for shade in the summer, and thermal wear or blankets in the colder months. Using less water overall is also a good goal to strive for when it comes to travelling green. One thing that’s really helped me is using dry shampoo now and again instead of washing my hair in the shower every time – not only does this use less water, it’s also quicker and easier.
Solar Panels and LED
Solar panels are very easy to find these days, and widely available in different sizes. One solar panel is likely enough to power all the electronics most people would have in a motorhome, and it does it using clean energy. If you don’t have them already, LED lights are also a great energy saving tool, and are even cool to the touch – avoiding any risk of accidentally burning yourself.
Waste
Reducing waste is another excellent way to reduce your environmental impact when travelling. Simple things such as having reusable kitchen equipment instead of paper plates or cups really adds up, and although you have to use water to wash them it’s still less impactful than the energy needed to manage the waste produced by something disposable or single use. Another important aspect of greener travelling is reducing food waste, it’s easy to make too much and chuck the rest, but try to store leftover food in containers in the fridge instead of binning it straight away.
Hopefully these tips not only help save the planet, but also help save you some money along the way. They might seem like small things, but every little thing adds up when we’re all doing it, and we all have to pitch in to prevent the climate crisis from growing. Best of luck with your green adventures, and I hope to see some of you at the NEC in February!
