There will come a time when you will need to do some upgrades to your home. These days, where global warming is reducing the world’s atmosphere and increasing the rate at which we are polluting the planet, finding ways to reduce energy costs is vital. While improvement costs may seem daunting at first, be sure that you are making up for the money you have already saved by using LED lights that use 75% less energy than other light bulbs. Additionally, don’t forget to check your local government rebates. Even if the rebates may not cover 100% of the upfront costs, they will most likely do something in the “acquired” value for your upgrades.
Save Money Through Energy Efficient Upgrades
Most of the major price adjustments in energy use will occur in the winter months. If you want to save money on your heating bills, you can try some improvements that will pay for themselves with the money that you are saving during the warmer months.
Install window coverings such as window film on your windows to help reflect the light outdoors and therefore reduce the amount of time that you spend reactively turning on your lights. Another way to help reduce your consumption in this way is to take your existing drafty windows and install new window treatments, such as heavier draperies. Another way is to check the temperature of your home and if the temperature is significantly lower in the winter than in the warmer months then consider replacing your windows.
Don’t forget to include outdoor lighting in these upgrades! Outdoor lighting can be the most cost-effective if used during the day. However, it is well worth using during the evening or late night hours to reduce your home’s potential for burglaries and vandalism.
One of the biggest things that you can do in your home to reduce the consumption of energy is to insulate it properly. It is important to get the most heat transfer by creating a barrier from the cool air inside the home to the warm air outside. This means installing double or triple-pane windows. Also, installing spray foam insulation on the outside or inside of your home will act as a great barrier for transferring the hot air from your home to the outside.
Make your home as energy-efficient as possible! Whether you are using LED lights in a few select rooms or an entire home upgrade to another source of energy-efficient lighting and appliances. There are some great resources available to you if you decide that going green is important to you. You may even consider renewable energy!
If there isn’t enough sunlight for your home, either choose from biomass energy or an alternate energy solution.
If you choose this option, make sure that you gather a lot of local plantings so that when your plants mature they provide more direct light and heat to your home.
Install a solar-powered system. This is a great way to reduce your consumption and reduce greenhouse gases.
Install a whole-house collector for your home’s heating and cooling systems. This would be a combination of solar-powered systems and local sources of renewable energy popping up everywhere.
If the city or even countable, install a system on your roof for collecting the sun’s heat.
This would be a combination system that uses the direct slowly heating power of solar, and then is being reused by a geothermal system, forced through by using local sources of renewable energy.