7 Ways to make your home more energy efficient.

Blown-in insulation can greatly improve your comfort and save enough energy to be very cost-effective.  If your attic is unfinished, it often pays to upgrade its insulation.

2.) Upgrade or replace windows.  

If your windows are old and leaky, it may be time to replace them with energy-efficient models or boost their efficiency with weatherstripping and storm windows. According to EnergyStar.gov, replacing windows will save 7 to 24 percent of your heating and air-conditioning bills.

3.) Plant shade trees and bushes around your house. 

If your house is older, with relatively poor insulation and windows, good landscaping (particularly trees) can save energy, especially if planted on the house’s west side. In summer, the foliage blocks infrared radiation that would warm the house, while in winter the bare branches let this radiation come through. 

4.) Replace an older furnace with a high-efficiency system.

If your furnace was built before 1992 and has a standing pilot, it probably wastes 35 percent of the fuel it uses, and it is probably near the end of its service life. A replacement may save you as much as 27 percent on your heating bill.

For houses with boilers and hot-water heat distribution (radiators, baseboard), the savings from a modern condensing boiler with outdoor reset or equivalent feedback controls can be substantially larger, since the condensing boilers allow reducing the circulating loop temperature almost all the time.

5.) Improve the efficiency of your hot water system.

First, turn down the temperature of your water heater to the warm setting (120°F). Second, insulate your hot water lines so they don’t cool off as quickly between uses. Third, use low-flow fixtures for showers and baths. While storage water heater standards were raised in 2001, it was probably not enough to justify throwing out an existing water heater that is working well. 

6.) Replace incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).

CFLs can save three-quarters of the electricity used by incandescents. Most people don’t think about the fact that the electricity to run a lightbulb costs much more than the bulb itself. The cost of using a CFL is less than one-third of the cost for the incandescent. 

7.) If you buy a new refrigerator, don’t leave the old one plugged in.

Avoid the temptation to use the old fridge as a backup for party supplies and liquid refreshment. The extra storage space will cost you: figure an extra $50–150 per year in electricity to keep that older fridge running. In contrast, the new fridge, particularly if Energy Star rated, may cost only $30–60 per year to run because refrigerator efficiency has improved so much in the past three decades. 

With all the money you will be saving, consider your new home improvement projects. Give us a call. If you dream it, we can build it. www.incrediblebuilders.com