Eco-friendly remodeling helps the environment, your wallet, and your standard of living, and it’s actually easier than you’d think.
Most American homeowners agree that environmental responsibility is important to them. Homeowners are also looking for ways to save on utility bills and cut on home costs across the board. Nevertheless, the thought of environmentally friendly remodeling remains a daunting one for most people. In reality, if you invest today to accomplish three essential and cost-effective goals, you can cut your environmental impact and utility spending for years to come:
Overhaul Your Home’s Heating and Cooling Issues
Heating and cooling is the biggest area for energy savings for pretty much any homeowner in America. The big problem with pretty much any home in the country is that two-thirds of its annual energy goes toward air conditioning and toward heating water and the house – about half of that energy is completely wasted. Obviously, this is a huge problem, but it’s also a major opportunity: there is so much that any homeowner can do to improve the efficiency of the house. Tools like the Home Energy Saver from the U.S. Department of Energy suggest so many of the possible ways you can reduce air leakage:
- Better insulating your attic or upgrading the entire insulation system
- Sealing leaks around your windows and doors
- Possibly replacing your old windows with newer double paned vinyl windows
- Install a programmable thermostat to maintain more constant temperatures
- Use fans rather than air conditioning whenever possible
- Clean out your A/C and furnace filters regularly
- Immediately contact a 24 hour ac repair company to fix a malfunctioning ac unit instead of keeping it running which could increase your electricity consumption. Alternatively, you may consider a new air conditioning installation and get a more energy-efficient unit. This will of course depend on your current model’s capabilities. It wouldn’t hurt to call an air cooling contractor to check if you might be due for an upgrade.
Transform Your Water Usage
The second big area for home improvement is all about water usage. A big part of the water usage side of things is completely free: simply being more conscious of your water usage habits and actively cutting down on your shower times, remembering to turn off the water when brushing your teeth or washing the dishes, and watching what options you choose on your laundry machine will all help you cut down on your water bill.
You can also consider installing those a greywater recovery system as well as more effective toilets, low-flow showerheads, dishwashers, and laundry machines. Even if you don’t want to spend the time and money to replace your water appliances, at the least you should probably consider fixing any leaky pipes or faucets – over time, it’ll save your money and your sanity.
Upgrade to Greener Appliances and Lighting
The last major area for improvement in your house is literally pretty much every appliance you can think of. The EPA designed something called the Energy Star system which basically takes the guesswork out of appliance buying. The blue and white star straight up tells you that the product will be at least 10 to 50 percent more efficient than standard models – it’ll save your money and the earth’s environment. In fact, a house that relies fully on Energy Star products will use about 30 percent less energy and save over $600 a year. Energy Star will help make it easier to replace any of you water-related appliances and can also help you purchase lightbulbs that last longer while using less energy.
Hashir Ali writes for Steamer’s Carpet Care, a Texas-based home service company serving homeowners in San Antonio, New Braunfels, and surrounding areas. Hashir hopes to have a very eco-friendly house some day.
