Tucson, Ariz. - Making your house eco-friendly can be as simple as a trip to the local hardware shop.

Hardware stores like Home Depot sell items to help make houses greener without breaking the bank. Read about some of the energy saving, eco-friendly products on the market today.


Great Stuff is an insulating foam sealant that can be used to seal gaps and cracks around windows and small holes in walls and roofs. Sealing all holes in houses with Great Stuff can help lower heating and cooling bills but to better insulation. Great Stuff comes in different formulas to seal wood and concrete. It costs $5 for a 16-ounce can.

Another wise investment is weather stripping for all doors and windows. Home Depot offers a wide variety of stripping which can be attached to either the frame or door. There are several types of stripping that can either adhere to frames or be nailed into the frame.

Don Feldman, a delivery coordinator at Home Depot, said he prefers the stripping which is nailed in because it lasts longer. The stripping runs from $4-$15.

An often overlooked green source is natural lighting. Dimly-lit rooms can become dramatically brighter with the addition of an ODL Tubular Skylight. The skylight cuts through the roof and magnifies the light coming in, brightening up any room during the day.

Feldman said installation can be tricky and recommends having Home Depot do the installation. The skylights cost $169 for a 10-inch-wide tube or $269 for a 14-inch-wide tube.

For a cheaper, easier alternative to the solar tube, consider compact fluorescent light bulbs. N:Vision's fluorescent bulbs cost slightly more than regular bulbs, but they provide more light and use less power. N:Vision offers a 75-watt bulb which uses the same energy as a normal 19-watt bulb, additionally it boasts over 10,000 hours of light, while most normal bulbs only last 1,200 hours according to Feldman. The fluorescent bulbs cost $6 and up.

Feldman cautioned that fluorescent bulbs should not be thrown in the trash. Instead they should be taken to proper hazardous material disposal centers.

Home Depot also offers a wide variety of deciduous trees, which Feldman recommends planting in front of windows on the south or west side of your house. The trees will provide shade in the summer to keep warm light out and shed their leaves in the winter to allow the sun’s warmth in.

Home Depot’s deciduous trees run $45 and higher.

Another great way keep warmth out of your house in the summer is by coating your roof in white-reflective paint. Henry’s Solarflex Coating is like a paint which dramatically reduces the heat your house absorbs through the roof. The coating reduces air conditioning costs and lengthens the life of the roof. It costs $18 for a 0.90-gallon container.