Everyone's always looking for ways to make their homes more environmentally friendly. Not only does it make you feel better when you can be more "green", but it also helps you save money!
With the cost of everything rising, finding any way you can save money is crucial. There are so many advantages to making your home more energy efficient.
From small and cheap methods to bigger investments, here's a list of ways you can capitalize on energy-saving tactics.
10 Ways to Make Your Home Energy Efficient
- Schedule an Energy Audit
Lights
Appliances
Windows
Doors
Insulation
AC
And more!
- Switch Your Lightbulbs to LED Ones
- Adjust Your Energy Usage Relative to the Sun
In summer, make sure you have heavy blinds or curtains you can keep closed to block out the sunlight. This will keep heat out so your AC doesn't have to work harder to cool down your home.
During winter, open these windows in the morning to let the heat in so your heat doesn't have to work overtime to keep everything warm.
- Add Weather Stripping to Windows
- Turn Down Your Water Heater
- Purchase Energy-Efficient Appliances
- Install Low-Flow Showerheads
- Buy a Smart Thermostat
- Make Sure Your Home Has Proper Insulation
- Upgrade Your Windows
Did you know you can get an energy audit for your home to receive personalized recommendations on how to make your home more energy efficient? You can contact your local utility company and ask about energy audits or find an assessor through the U.S. Department of Energy.
They'll send someone out to take a look at a few things, including:
Based on their findings, they'll make personalized recommendations on changes you could make to save energy. For example, they might recommend installing smart thermostats to better regulate the temperature throughout the day to save money on electricity costs.
Energy audits can be free or a few hundred dollars depending on who you book yours through.
While LED light bulbs might be more expensive than traditional incandescent bulbs, they can be huge for energy savings. LED bulbs last 30 times longer than an incandescent bulb and use 75% less energy, according to energy.gov.
Plus, LED lights come with all kinds of technology, from color-changing Bluetooth lights to compact recessed downlights, to make your home look amazing.
Pro tip: If you replace all of the lights in your home with LED ones, you'll notice quite a difference in your monthly utility bill!
Pay attention to how the sun hits your home. Here's how to take advantage of the sun's energy, as well as how to protect your home from the heat.
Any windows with Southern exposure receive the most sunlight, so pay special attention to those:
Throughout each season, pay attention to how the sunlight enters your home during different times of the day. For any windows or doors where the sunlight hits the strongest, keep those closed during the summer months and open during the winter.
Any rooms with Southern exposure are going to get the most direct sunlight
There are a lot of older houses in New Jersey. This means the weather stripping has probably deteriorated and the seal is no longer airtight.
Once the weather stripping around windows goes bad, it can make your AC (or heating) work harder than it needs to, resulting in increased electricity costs. In the summer, it lets the hot air in, and during winter it lets the cold inside.
Luckily, this one is an easy and affordable fix. Simply purchase weather stripping and apply it to your windows to say goodbye to cold drafts.
Everyone loves to take a nice hot shower. However, it's not cheap (or energy-efficient) to force your hot water heater to constantly have water heated to a high temperature.
Take a look at your water heater and determine if it really needs to be set to the temperature you have it at. Reducing the hot water temperature by even just 5-10°F can help you save money, and you probably won't even notice the difference!
If your home is full of old appliances, you're probably wasting a lot of money on utility costs.
While it might be a bit of an investment upfront, purchasing Energy Star appliances will save you money on your monthly bills. These appliances meet strict energy-efficiency guidelines created by the EPA to reduce energy usage. From refrigerators to washing machines and even water heaters, Energy Star has an appliance for everything.
Reducing water usage is another way to reduce utility costs. An easy way to use less water is to install low-flow shower heads. These usually have multiple pressure settings so you can still customize the water flow, but in a way that's more efficient.
This is a win-win situation, as you get to reduce water consumption, save money on your bills, and still take the perfect shower!
You're probably wondering if spending money on a "smart" thermostat is even necessary. But we can tell you, it's a huge help for reducing energy consumption and monthly bills.
Unlike a normal thermostat, a smart thermostat analyzes your energy usage and sets itself to the perfect temperatures throughout the day based on your needs and how much money you want to save.
You can also pre-program temperature changes. For example, you can set the thermostat to go up when you're at work and lower back down to "normal" an hour before you get home.
Insulation helps your home retain heat during the winter and keep cold air in during the summer. If your home doesn't have proper insulation, your air conditioner has to work overtime to make up for the cold (or hot) air entering your home.
Check to see if your basement and attic are properly insulated. If not, it's probably time for an upgrade. You'll likely see dramatic improvements in your utility bills! Not to mention, your home will be at a more comfortable temperature.
This is one of the more expensive options on the list. However, it's probably one of the best upgrades you can make to your home.
Many old homes were built with single-pane windows, which are terrible for energy efficiency (and your electric bill). If your windows feel a bit too drafty or your home can't seem to cool down around the windows in the summer, it's probably time for new windows.
While it's a big investment upfront, it provides energy savings for years to come — it can reduce your energy bill by up to 50%!
Are You Creating an Energy-Efficient Home?
Many homeowners are looking to create a more energy-efficient home to save money on bills. Others are looking to make some small upgrades so that, when they go to sell their house, it's more attractive to potential buyers.
A home decked out with energy-efficient appliances, smart devices, and affordable utility bills can be a huge benefit to buyers.
If you need help selling your home, contact us today! Our expert real estate team can provide a FREE market valuation, accounting for any energy-efficient upgrades you've made.
