Can you make your home more energy efficient?

If you have been noticing that your energy bills are getting higher and higher with every passing month, perhaps you are losing energy without realizing it. Luckily, there are many great ways in which you can cut down on energy expenses. So if you are interested in living in a more energy efficient home, receiving some tips on the subject will probably help you out. Although some of the following projects might require an initial investment, every penny spent will prove to be worth it, after you notice the outcomes. If you want to find out more on the topic, just keep reading:

Air leakage inspection

Air leakage is one of the main causes of energy loss, but it is also the most difficult thing to notice. Some houses leak even 3 times the amount of air they normally should, and this means, and imbalanced indoor temperature is the normal repercussion. To find out if this is the issue that has been causing your home to lose energy, you should resort to the services of a reputable company that can provide you with air leakage testing, and if the results are negative ones, they can put at your disposal an air sealing possibility as well. You will notice the difference in both how comfortable your home environment will feel as well as in the lowering of your bills.

Insulation

Without being properly insulated with the right type of material, your home will not be able to provide you with the indoor temperature you desire. This means that during those harsh days of winter, you will be forced to run your heating device to its maximum capacity, and during summer, you will wish to keep your air conditioning system turned on all day long. Well, what the right insulation material will do for you is keep your home environment cool during summer, and warm during winter, with no need of spending a fortune on cooling and heating costs. So, investing in an old insulation replacement is certainly a decision you will not regret. However, do not try to handle this task without the help of a professional, because you might face unpleasant complications. A team of pros will have the equipment and skills necessary to insulate your entire house in a proper manner, so do not make the mistake of insulating yourself just to save money, because you will end up spending more when you concluding that insulating is definitely not a DIY project.

Consider a window replacement

Old rusty windows can be the ones that affect the temperature of a house, so even if every inch of your home is properly insulated, if your windows are faulty, your energy consumption will inevitable rise. If you start analysing how much money you are losing due to inefficient windows, you will conclude for yourself that a replacement is a far more affordable option. The windows which are most likely to cause you problems of this kind are single pane ones, or those that have aluminum frames. Switching to vinyl frames or double panel windows can be a financially wise decision to make. So think about this aspect very carefully, and consider a replacement is it is necessary – sooner or later you will have to replace an old set of windows anyway, so to not waste any more energy, sooner is better than latter.

Avoid overusing appliances

One mistake that many owners tend to make, which later leads to an energy consumption increase, is overusing certain appliances, and forgetting to switch some off. During winter, try to use your thermostat, for example, at a comfortable setting, instead of exaggerating, and constantly changing its settings. Also, try to not forget some appliance on, such as your dryer, or your microwave, and switch them off every time you stop using them, and even unplug them just to make sure.

Replace your desktop computer with your laptop

You will be surprised to discover that after a few years of usage, desktop computers start to use quite a lot of electricity. Because this is probably one item in your household that you always keep plugged in, learning about its energy consumption will come in handy. If you do a bit of research on the topic, you will find out that laptops can use even up to 80 percent less electricity than a regular desktop computer, peaking a maximum energy draw of 60 watts. Even if investing in a laptop might seem expensive, this alternative is certainly greener.

Energy efficient appliances exist

One last thing you should know is that replacing some of your appliances with more energy-efficient ones can actually work great in lowering your monthly bills. Nowadays, you can find on the market a wide range of alternatives of this kind, starting from refrigerators and up to stoves and dryers, just look for items with the HE logo on them.

All in all, there is a wide variety of options in which you can make your home more energy efficient, and thus cut down on your bill expenses. However, among all the ones mentioned above, insulation and air leakage testing are probably the most important ones, allowing you to improve the temperature of your home considerably. Even if paying for this type of services might seem expensive at first, if you consider how much money you are wasting on lost energy, you will give these option a second thought. With the help of the right specialists, you can make your home more energy efficient than ever, without compromising on comfort.

Cynthia Madison is a young blogger and economics and marketing graduate. She writes about home, lifestyle and family topics and is a senior contributor to popular niche publications.