If you’re looking to make your home more sustainable, start by looking at the energy consumption throughout the home. Aside from being the resource most heavily overused in the average home, the fossil fuels that power the home can get expensive as well. For that reason, I’m sharing small and big ways that you can make the home more energy-efficient.
Consider renewable sources of energy
The single biggest change you can make when it comes to the energy use of your home is to consider renewable energy installations: Is it worth the high initial cost for the eventual savings? Secondly, can you get enough to power your entire home? When it comes to choices such as solar panels, there are solar installation teams that can offer tools such as solar energy calculators to help you get a good idea if you can get all the energy you need from the sun and how long it might take for the energy savings to “pay you back” on your investment.
Securing the home
When you look at the average energy use in the home, it should be no surprise that a large portion of it is often take up by climate control efforts. No one is going to say that you shouldn’t try to stay cool in the summer or shouldn’t stay warm in the winter. It’s only human to want to be comfortable in your own home. However, blasting your AC and heating appliances isn’t the only way to maintain a good climate in your home. Better insulation can make the home both easier to cool and to heat year-round. This can include ensuring you have insulation installed in the floors and roof, but you also want to look at where air leaks can open up the home, such as by working with a window replacement company. Your windows and doors can eventually become much less effective at stopping airflow when closed, which can force you to spend more money on your energy bills.
Take a look at your appliances
Even with a well-maintained home and effective insulation, you’re still going to rely on your heating and AC. Make sure that you have your heating setup serviced at least once every couple of years to make sure that it’s working effectively and efficiently. Your air-conditioner needs even more attention, as dust and moisture can cause it to start to malfunction, making it less efficient at cooling the home. Get in touch with an HVAC engineer who can take a look at your appliance, make sure they’re not offering substandard performances, and recommend upgrades or replacements when necessary.
Better control your climate
Making sure that your appliances are working as they should be is only one step to ensuring that you’re not wasting energy. It’s easy to “set it and forget” when it comes to heating or cooling the home and when you do that, you can spend more money than you need by keeping the cooling or heating on longer than is necessary. With the help of a smart thermostat, you can set the temperature that you want it to be and let it adjust itself manually so that it doesn’t heat up or cool down the home too much. Of course, adjusting the thermostat a couple of degrees in the summer helps save money, too.
Be mindful of vampire energy
If there’s one way to make sure you’re not spending too much energy needlessly, it’s to make sure that your appliances are turned off when you’re not using them anymore. However, simply turning them off isn’t going to stop them from wasting any energy. Vampire energy is when an appliance is turned off or in standby mode but still plugged in. It’s still getting supplied with electricity, even if it is somewhat less, and little by little that can all start to add up. Of course, leaving appliances plugged in at the wall unattended, especially when you sleep, is something of a fire hazard, as well, so keep an eye out for it.
Whether you aim to change some of the energy use habits in the home or you make a few key investments to get savings on your bills in the long run, there are plenty of tips here to help you reduce energy use in your home.
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Marette Flora is the founder of Floradise blog and personalized gift shop. Marette is a passionate storyteller and creator. She attended the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication.
She is passionate about creating helpful and meaningful things.