Do these descriptions fit your efforts at going green in your home?

Pat yourself on the back if these descriptions fit you: You are a homeowner and you are doing your best to go green through making lifestyle changes and undertaking home projects. The main reasons you are doing so is because investing in the environment is important to you, you want to save money, and you want to improve the resale value of your house.

If you are indeed patting yourself on the back right now you are among the vast majority of American homeowners, according to a new survey. It seems almost everyone, with few exceptions, is going green or trying to do so in one way or another.

Overall, 92% of American homeowners invested in eco-friendly improvements to their homes last year, according to the survey, conducted by Pollfish for Angi, a home services website.

Amounts spent

Here’s a follow-up question to determine just how enthusiastic you are in your eco-friendly efforts: How much did you spend in the last year going green?

How you rate: If you spent up to $5,000 on environmentally friendly home improvements, you are among six out of 10 homeowners. If you spent more than $5,000 you are among four in every 10 homeowners. If you forked out more than $10,000 doing so, you are among only one in every 10 homeowners.

Reassuring

Here’s another chance to pat yourself on the back—providing, of course, you did so the first time. Learning that most American homeowners are taking steps toward making our homes more eco-friendly and sustainable in addition to saving energy is reassuring, says Mischa Fisher, chief economist at Angi. After all, housing produced almost 17% of the country’s total global greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, he explains.

Popular projects

You probably want to know at this stage just what all those going-green projects were and how you and other homeowners spent all that money.

Here are the answers.

According to professionals and homeowners themselves, the most common eco-friendly projects undertaken in American homes in the past year were:

• Caulking or sealing windows—34%

• Improving a home’s insulation—30%

• Obtaining smart thermostats—28%

• Installing toilets that are low-flow or dual-flow—23%

• Obtaining appliances that are Energy Star approved—23%

Lifestyle changes, too

You did not do all or any of those things? Relax, there’s more. You might well fit in here.

Homeowners have not only improved the eco-friendliness of their homes, they also have made lifestyle changes aimed at reducing their own impact on the environment, the survey shows.

Here are the top lifestyle changes made during the past year.

• Washed clothes on cold—47%

• Replaced usual light bulbs with LED bulbs—42%

• Improved efforts at recycling—39%

• Changed to eco-friendly detergents and cleaners—31%

• Began taking shorter showers—29%

Keep up the good work.

Two of the eco-friendly changes in lifestyle that were popular over the past year helped to save water, Fisher explains. Doing so is vital given recent wildfires and droughts across the country.

Should you be looking to do more to conserve water in your house, think about talking to a local landscaper on whether you should install an in-ground irrigation system or a rainwater collection system, Fisher suggests. Also ask them to check for leaks to make sure you are not wasting water during the day, he adds.

Home professionals

Home professionals also are making changes, the survey finds. They are:

• Using eco-friendly detergents and cleaners

• Recommending appliances that are Energy Star approved

• Using shipping and packing materials that are sustainable

• Driving vehicles to work sites that are hybrid or electric