7 Ways to Create an Energy-Efficient Home While Conserving Your Budget

Tips To Create An Energy-Efficient Home

7 Ways To Create An Energy-Efficient Home

Whether you want to save money, add value to your home or just save the environment, creating an energy-efficient home is always a smart idea. One of the prominent concerns homeowners have when thinking about efficient remodeling is the price of that undertaking.

Many homeowners are not aware of all the possible ways of creating an energy-efficient home. There is still this misconception that smart and eco-friendly equals expensive and luxurious. But, today you can build an energy-efficient home even if you can’t afford to have one of those glamorous, crazy expensive eco refrigerators or washing machines.

To break this misconception, we came up with seven of the best and affordable investments that will make your home more energy-efficient and help you save money in the long run.

1. Add Insulation

Adding insulation is perhaps the most effective way of preventing heat loss. Thanks to loft and wall insulation, you will use way less energy for heating.

It will also take much less time for your space to warm up, and most importantly, you will obtain more heat inside your home for a more extended period.

Except for heating, same rules apply for cooling in the summer. Adding loft insulation will provide you a higher energy-efficiency rating. Not only your home will be more comfortable, but it will also be more attractive to potential buyers if you decide to sell. You can even take insulation as a DIY project.

What more can you ask for: insulation represents simple and highly effective home improvement.

2. Clean HVAC Unit

HVAC is responsible for the majority of your energy-efficiency problems: heat loss, heat gain, uneven heating, and so on. Having your HVAC system cleaned annually is one of the most important spring home maintenance tasks because it can play a huge role when it comes to the life expectancy your HVAC system.

The most important task is to clean or replace filters regularly. Clogged filters interfere with regular airflow, and dirt effectively reduces HVAC’s energy-efficiency. With the only half functional filter, air that goes through carries dirt into the evaporator coil. This can have an impact on heat absorption and require running an air conditioner longer.

Simple maintenance can have a significant influence on your bills. Clean and unclogged filters allow you to lower power consumption up to 15%. Once you notice that it is the right moment for replacing your HVAC, don’t procrastinate. However, this might require more significant financial investment, so focus on good maintenance practice.

3. Invest in Energy-Efficient Switch

Install Energy-Efficient Switches In Your Home – How To Create An Energy-Efficient Home

We bet you never dedicated much time to rethinking your switches. However, if you knew what a difference could it make, we are sure you would!

How many times did you leave your PC, printer or kettle turned on and left your home? With the implementation of these switches, those problems may end.

Energy-efficient switches can help you pay less for your utility bills and also help the environment. We recommend you to look for switches that are small, made of silicon, and run on chips.

Those switches consume a very small amount of power which results in less heat as well. Automatic switches can recognize if the gadget attached to it is on without reason and then turn off the power. They are even capable of determining the length of cable (shorter cable length requires less energy) and adapt power consumption.

4. Use a Smart Thermostat

With smart home technology rapidly developing, our list couldn’t remain without mentioning the ultimate – smart thermostat. Smart thermostats are unique devices made for controlling your home’s heating and are different from traditional ones for many reasons.

They allow you to use an application (downloaded on your smartphone or tablet) to control your heating. Therefore, you can monitor the heating situation in your home even if you are on holiday.

Smart thermostats are capable of analyzing outdoors condition such as humidity and adapting interior temperature to results. This system will provide a huge cut in energy consumption and conserve your budget.

The smart thermostat is easy to install; screw it to your wall and connect to your smartphone. The market is flooded with various brands such as Nest, Ecobee, Honeywell, etc., and prices usually vary from 150 to about 300 dollars.

The impact that smart home technology has on real estate cannot be understated.  There are home buyers in the market who will pay more for a home because it has smart home features, such as a smart thermostat!

5. Install LED Lightbulbs

We have gone a long way from traditional lighting and LED lighting is here to stay. It is by far, according to hundreds of studies, most energy-efficient and environmentally friendly way of lighting your home.

LED light bulbs are sleek, clean and, in fact, digital way of lighting. There are multiple benefits of replacing conventional light bulbs with LED ones.

Firstly, they have a shocking lifetime of up to 100,000 hours. That automatically means you will need to spend money less often on purchasing new bulbs.

Secondly, LED bulbs are entirely clean and recyclable, and they don’t include toxic material of any kind. They also can be used without risks for the environment and contribute to reducing your carbon footprint.

Lastly, these light bulbs are an ideal option for outside lighting. They are less prone to shock and can withstand various rough weather conditions such as wind, rain, and snow.

6. Use Energy Management Systems

Energy management systems are the future. They allow you to control your home through remote controlling fully. No more panicking about whether or not you’ve left the iron on!

Energy management system are central systems meaning they collect data of your gadgets in an app. You can monitor your energy consumption which can help you learn about it and adapt it better to your budget. Energy management systems allow you to turn on or off the security system, heating, air conditioning, and various appliances.

7. Install Low Flow Shower Faucets

Install Low Flow Shower Faucets – 7 Ways To Create An Energy-Efficient Home

An affordable and simple way to save money and water is to install low flow shower heads or faucets. There are two main types of low flow shower heads: aerating shower heads and laminar shower heads. The main difference is that aerating ones mix air and water, and laminar provide constant water stream.

A common misconception is that low flow means equals low pressure. Low flow faucets offer same force thanks to small apertures through which the air flows resulting in convenient pressure.

These just might be the most affordable home improvements with the price of only 10 dollars per head. For that investment, low flow faucets and shower heads are capable of reducing water consumption by up to 50 percent.

Final Thoughts

Today, transforming your property into an energy saving machine has never been easier. Thanks to new technologies, you can control and monitor your energy consumption through one easy press of a finger.

Making the best out of your HVAC system is an excellent and obligatory place to start. However, to boost energy-efficiency, consider simple yet practical solutions such as LED bulbs, low flow faucets, energy management systems, smart thermostats, and energy-efficient switches or you can even engage in DIY insulation project!

Implementing these will provide you significant money savings without compromising comfortability of your home. We truly hope we helped you realize that eco-friendly and energy-efficiency doesn’t have to mean expensive and impossible!

Other Help Resources To Create An Energy-Efficient Home

• How To Turn Your Home Into A Smart Home via Paul Sian
• Going Green In Your Home via The Highland Group
• Energy Efficient Money Saving Tips For New Homeowners via Debbie Drummond
• How To Smarten Up Every Room In Your House via Jeff Nelson
• Do Solar Panel Systems Increase Property Values via Bill Gassett

About The Author: The above article “7 Ways to Create an Energy-Efficient Home While Conserving Your Budget” was written by Matt James.  Matt is a freelance writer specialized in home improvement, smart technology, architecture & design. He has a love of outdoors and spending time with his dog Cooper.

About Rochester’s Real Estate Blog: Rochester’s Real Estate Blog is owned and operated by Kyle Hiscock of the Hiscock Sold Team at RE/MAX Realty Group.

With over 35 years of combined experience, if you’re thinking of selling or buying, we’d love to share our knowledge and expertise.

We service the following Greater Rochester NY areas: Irondequoit, Webster, Penfield, Pittsford, Fairport, Brighton, Greece, Gates, Hilton, Brockport, Mendon, Henrietta, Perinton, Churchville, Scottsville, East Rochester, Rush, Honeoye Falls, Chili, and Victor NY.