7 Ways To Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

T he best gift you can give the planet is to make your home more energy efficient. Granted, some options can require you to make a hefty investment before you see a reduction in your bills but we promise you that they will still dramatically cut costs for you in the long run. 

To make you braver in the face of these options, let us guide you through each one.

1. Aim For the Best Quality in High-Energy Consuming Appliances 

A new air conditioner, furnace, or boiler may be beneficial for homes older than 15 years. Heating systems that are beyond 15 to 20 years old are often inefficient by today's standards. And thanks to recent advancements in the air conditioning business, cooling systems older than 10 years are great candidates for replacement. 

Even some of the more affordable central air conditioning and heating systems are more efficient than high-end counterparts installed just 15 years ago. Homeowners that are clever combine the installation of new equipment with other upgrades like sealing doors and windows, increasing insulation, and upgrading ducting. They may observe their energy savings grow as a result of this.

2. Install Ceiling Fans 

There's a compelling case to be made for reducing your dependency on air conditioning for environmental reasons. When you need to cool bedrooms but not the whole home, ceiling fans are ideal, particularly at night. In the winter, the fan will also come in handy since most of them include a "reverse" setting that sinks warm air down in the room.

3. Swap Light Bulbs With LED Bulbs 

LED lighting delivers unparalleled brightness, low running costs, exceptional energy economy, and minimal heat emissions. Light and motion sensors are available on certain dimmable models. LEDs are durable and operate well in frigid temperatures. Outdoor LED lighting options include walkway, step, and porch lights. Some LED outdoor lighting is solar-powered. LEDs are more costly than regular light bulbs, but they save money since they last longer and consume less energy.

4. Install Floor, Roof, And Loft Insulation

Fixing your insulation can also help you save money on your utility bill. If you haven’t looked into insulating your roof, skirting, boards or windows then that’s where your home is leaking all the energy. Check your ductwork for leaks as the second suspect.

If these options are out of your price range, modest changes like installing window insulating film or laying a thick mat on a poorly insulated floor may significantly reduce the amount of energy required to heat a space. Roofs and walls that aren't well insulated might waste a lot of energy. Another major source of heat loss in your house is uninsulated walls.  As per the Energy Saving Trust, good loft insulation may save you between £120 and £225 per year, based on the sort of home you have and where you reside. 

5. Buy Energy Saving Windows 

Replace single-pane windows with more energy-efficient windows, or add sun shades or tinting film if your property has them. Weather-stripping around the frames is a good idea. Apply silicone sealant over any gaps in your walls, or cover your windows with a piece of shrink film. Sealing gaps in the frame and fractures in the window glass is a simple and low-cost approach to save money on electricity.

6. Upgrade To A Smart Thermostat

The ability to operate smart home equipment from a distance is their key advantage. A smart thermostat might be the most practical solution if your family's schedule is always changing. Some smart thermostats, such as Nest, do away with the need for manual adjustments. It's a truly smart thermostat that can detect motion and learn your routine and preferences over many days. 

You don't have to program anything since it does it all for you. These thermostats enable you to program your HVAC system to cool or heat at certain periods throughout the day. They "learn" from your actions to fine-tune the management of your home's heating and cooling, and some of them also include geofencing (how near you are to home), voice control, and app choices.

7. Ditch Your Dryer For a Washing Line

Clotheslines are one of the simplest methods to conserve electricity since just hanging your clothing to dry eliminates 100% of the expense. Powered clothes dryers are energy-sucking vampires, requiring an average of 5 kilowatt-hours for each load of washing. Another useful piece of advice is to only wash full loads of dishes and laundry.
Hanging washing on a clothesline extends the life of your garments significantly. Indoor clothes drying may also assist to increase humidity indoors.

If you’re still wondering whether you should take the steps to make your home more energy efficient after reading our compilation then don’t worry about making a radical change. Rather, start with micro-changes that are sustainable.

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• energy conservation
• energy conserving homes
• save the planet
• greener homes
• energy efficient homes