Reduce your energy bills, make your home more comfortable, and help protect the environment by making your home more energy-efficient. The best way to improve your home’s energy efficiency is by first targeting its envelope, which includes the walls, doors, and windows. The next step is to improve the energy efficiency of your home’s systems, such as its heating, cooling, and lighting systems. The following tips will help you transform your home’s energy profile and lower your energy bills.
Weather Strip Your Windows and Doorframes
Use weather strips and draft blockers to seal gaps around your windows and doors. Draft proofing can cut heat loss by up to 25%. If your windows and doorframes are old and leaky, however, you might want to consider replacing them entirely with energy-efficient models. The largest savings are associated with replacing single-glazed windows with ENERGY STAR-rated windows.
Replace Old Kitchen Appliances
Refrigerators guzzle more energy than most other appliances in the house. ENERGY STAR-rated refrigerators are about 15% more energy efficient than models that meet the minimum federal energy efficiency standard. If you choose a new certified model, you can save anywhere from $200 to $1,100 on energy costs over the lifetime of your fridge.
Replacing older washers, dryers, and dishwashers can also make a huge difference in your home’s energy profile. Your washer and dryer are the second and third biggest energy-eating appliances in your home. You could save approximately $135 per year by replacing a washer that is more than 10 years old with an ENERGY STAR-rated washer.
Dishwashers are one of the most expensive home appliances, but replacing an older dishwasher with a newer, energy efficient model can trim your utility bills and save you loads of water in the long run. According to ENERGY STAR, if you have a dishwasher that was made before 1994, you’re paying an extra $40 each year on your utility bills compared to owning an ENERGY STAR-rated model. Moreover, an ENERGY STAR-rated dishwasher will save 1,300 gallons of water on average over its lifetime.
Properly Insulate Your Home
Properly insulating your home will keep it up to 10 degrees warmer in the wintertime and up to 7 degrees cooler in the summer. The cost of insulating your walls, floors, and ceilings will pay for itself in the long run by lowering heating costs.
Proper insulation slows the rate at which heat flows out of your house in the winter and into your house in the summer, so less energy is required to heat and cool your home. When hiring a contractor to insulate your home, keep in mind that the contractor’s level of expertise is more important than the insulation material used.
Install a Programmable Thermostat
Just like you would flip the lights off before leaving the house for work, it’s ideal to turn your heating or cooling down before leaving your home. Install a programmable thermostat and set it so that it is at a higher temperature when you’re away during the day in the summer and at a lower temperature when you’re away during the day in the winter.
Plant Shade Trees and Shrubs Around Your Home
Planting shade trees and other types of vegetation in front of large windows outside of your home can block the sun as well as cold winds. The foliage blocks radiation from the sun that warms the house in the summertime, while in the winter, the bare branches let the radiation come through. Good landscaping can make a huge difference in the energy efficiency and comfort of older, poorly insulated homes, but the difference isn’t so noticeable in homes that are well insulated and have energy efficient windows.
If you’re looking for a homes for sale in Columbus, Ohio, get in touch with Rockford Homes. We are Columbus, OH homebuilders who pride ourselves in building energy-efficient homes throughout Central Ohio. The average Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rating of new homes we build is 63. In comparison, the typical new home built to code has a HERS rating of 100. The lower the number, the more energy efficient your home is. With Rockford, you can save over $1,000 per year in energy costs compared to a typical resale home and over $600 per year in energy costs compared to a typical new home. Contact us today for more information about our energy-efficient homes!
