When looking for a way to improve your home, don't overlook the importance of becoming more energy efficient. If you change the energy efficiency of your home, you can save more every month. Reducing your home's energy consumption is also more environmentally friendly. This is an endeavor that is always worth contributing to. Note that you don't need to completely renovate your home to be more efficient with energy use.
It is enough to address certain parts of your home to make a real difference.
Invest in attic insulation
It can be difficult to maintain a comfortable room temperature in the winter and summer months. It can just seem like the hot or cold air doesn't linger in your home long enough. You should know that such a problem can be fixed. If you find that the desired room temperature cannot be maintained in your home for long, it may be because you are not adequately insulated.
As noted by the Department of Energy, your heating system has to work harder in winter to make up for the heat loss that occurs. It is also true that your cooling system has to work longer to maintain a comfortable temperature in the summer. By investing more in insulation, you can reduce the flow of heat and better regulate the temperatures in your home. Insulating the attic, in particular, should be immensely helpful as it creates a barrier that keeps hot or cold air where it needs to be.
Repair or redesign your roof
As you make changes to your attic up there, you should also get closer on the roof. Small holes in the roof could be the reason your home is losing or gaining heat faster than it should. Immediately patch up these small openings. The lack of holes in your roof doesn't mean you don't need to make further improvements. BobVila.com recommends making additional changes that will significantly improve the energy efficiency of your roof. These changes include adding inlet and outlet vents to keep the attic from getting too hot, as well as adding a radiation barrier. You can also use energy efficient roof shingles that keep excess heat out of the attic.
Update your Windows or install new ones
According to the Department of Energy, heat flow through windows is responsible for a whopping 25 to 30 percent of the consumption of heating and cooling systems in households across the country. Those are very high numbers, and they speak for why windows should be a priority when improving a home. Take the time to repair your windows by patching leaks or sealing small openings. Treating your windows and adding sunscreen are other improvements worth considering. If your windows are already in bad shape and still need to be replaced, consider buying storm windows. Storm windows are ideal for minimizing heat loss and gain. They're also an ideal addition to the home as they prevent air from leaking.
Use energy efficient lights and smart socket strips
You may not think the lights you use at home will have a huge impact on your utility bills, but they don't necessarily. Light bulbs pale in comparison to the more advanced lighting options we have today in terms of energy efficiency. To reduce your lighting costs, the National Resources Defense Council recommends switching to LED lights. That way, you can cut your energy bills by about $ 100 a year.
To further reduce your energy bills, you may want to buy a smart power strip. Smart power strips interrupt the power supply to devices, even when they are in standby mode. This means that when you turn something off, it really doesn't use any more electricity. Devices do not consume much energy in standby mode, but this low consumption can accumulate over a long period of time. Every little bit helps when you're trying to save. So think about adding smart power strips to your home.
Repair your heating system
Many of us cannot manage to endure the winter cold for long periods of time. We have to rely on our heating system to maintain a certain level of comfort. Using your heating system more frequently is inevitable in winter. So at least make sure it works properly. Energy Star recommends checking the filters and burners to see if they are clean. If not, they can affect the efficiency of the entire system. A crack in the heat exchanger can also lead to faulty or inefficient operation. Lastly, remember to lubricate the moving parts of the heating system so that it takes less energy to get them running.
There are several ways you can improve your home
You can repaint your walls, embellish your garden, or even add new rooms. But don't forget to improve energy efficiency. In the long run, this could be the change that has the greatest positive impact.
