Your home consumes a lot of energy and wastes a lot of it, too. This stems from small missteps that add up in the long run. This hurts your wallet and the environment, as the energy you consumed needed to be reproduced somehow. If you want to be more eco-friendly and save more money, here are a few tips to improve your home’s energy efficiency.
Heating and Cooling
The biggest wasters of energy in your home are the heating and cooling systems. When it is hot, you want to be cool, while cold weather turns you to warm yourself. The problem is a lot of that cold and heat is wasted due to improper insulation. That is why you should hire insulation contractors in Kansas City and other areas to help you out.
Proper insulation should start at where there are large openings into your home. These are your windows, doors, and your attic. An insulated attic is necessary for keeping heat inside the property because hot air escapes upward. Proper sealing and insulation ensure that heat won’t escape. Doors and windows being sealed can also contribute to better insulation, especially when they are double-glazed. Your wall, roof, and floors can also benefit from proper insulation.
Additionally, you should choose more effective ways to heat and cool your home beyond the normal HVAC systems. For example, a ceiling fan can be a big help in cooling since it is easier to maintain than an AC unit. For heating, you might want to use a wood stove since it is better than a furnace.
Lighting
One of the biggest consumers of electricity in the house is the lighting; 11 percent of a home’s budget to be exact. However, this is using normal light bulbs. If you shift to LEDs and CFLs, you can reduce energy consumption by up to 75 percent. Combine that with smart usage and you can drop lighting costs a lot. In addition, LEDs last longer and gives you savings on the replacements, too.
You might also want to design a house that uses natural light better. It’s free and can heat up your home. That is why you’ll want good windows and skylights.
Electricity
Let’s move to the other electrical appliances at home. One of the best ways to reduce consumption is by choosing Energy Star items. Products with this certification usually have significantly lower power consumption than their counterparts.
Saving electricity is also dependent on how you use them. Learn smart ways to use your appliances. For example, invest in an energy monitor to see how much energy you are using and what you can cut back on.
Additionally, investing in solar panels allows you to generate and supplement your electricity needs. Less dependence on the grid and free energy are great benefits.
Replace the Old
If you’ve bought an old house, then it is time to upgrade it. There have been a lot of efficiency upgrades when it comes to old furnaces and HVAC units. If they are older than ten years or even just five years, it is more cost-effective to replace them.
Being energy-efficient is a big win for a homeowner. That means they are not spending too much money and they are helping save the Earth. With the tips above, you should be on your way to turning your house into an energy-efficient space.
