Transform Your Home with these Best Energy-Saving Home Improvement Ideas
Wouldn’t it be wonderful that besides having a nice, luxurious, and comfortable home, you were also able to reduce your carbon footprint and save up on energy costs? Undoubtedly, it would be. Hence, this is where you need to make some energy-saving home improvements. The benefits of doing so include a reduction in all your utility bills, an increase in your property’s value, and a comfortable and healthier space to live in. Therefore, we have listed some energy-saving home improvement ideas for you so that you can have a greener and more cost-effective home to reside in.
Table of Contents
- Energy-Saving Home Improvement Ideas That Will Help You Save Power and Money
- Install Solar Panels
- Include Passive Solar Design
- Switch to Energy-Efficient Lighting
- Upgrade to Energy-Efficient Appliances
- Set Up a Programmable Thermostat
- Install Energy-Efficient Doors
- Upgrade to Energy-Efficient Windows
- Opt for Energy-Efficient Roofing
- Install Low-Flow Fixtures
- Seal Air Leaks and Improve Insulation
- Insulate Your Water Heater or Get a Tankless Water Heater
- Set Up a Rainwater Harvesting System
Energy-Saving Home Improvement Ideas That Will Help You Save Power and Money
Let’s dive into a few home improvements ideas that will help you save on your power usage and your energy bills.
Install Solar Panels
One of the most efficient and effective energy-saving home improvement ideas is to install solar panels. Investing in solar panels is worth it because it is one of the most effective ways to save up on energy costs. Solar panels basically need the sun to help generate electricity. Hence, this means that your reliance on the grid has decreased significantly and so has your energy bills. Your initial investment can be higher but if you look at the long-term benefits, then it’s a wise decision to make.
Include Passive Solar Design
Including a passive solar design or architecture in your home ensures that solar energy is naturally captured and distributed for heating and cooling. And, how do you accomplish this? Well, it’s simple! You can use thermal mass materials such as brick or concrete to retain heat, have proper ventilation in the correct places, very strategically place windows, install a skylight for natural lighting and reduce artificial lighting as much as possible, plant shade trees, etc.
Switch to Energy-Efficient Lighting
Considering how much energy a home uses for lighting, making the transition to energy-efficient lighting is a great way to save on all your utility bills. Switching to LED lights is a smart home-improvement idea as these lights consume up to less than 80% energy as compared to traditional incandescent bulbs. What’s even better, if you want to save up on energy consumption and in turn your costs, then installing motion sensors or timers for the lights is a great way to do so. This way the lights will only come on when needed.
Upgrade to Energy-Efficient Appliances
One of the most essential things we use frequently in our homes are appliances, therefore, one of the best home improvement ideas is to upgrade to energy-efficient small appliances if you want to save up on both energy consumption and cost. If you are purchasing some new appliances or replacing your old ones, then look for those that come with the Energy Star label. These energy-efficient appliances use less energy and water, and reduce greenhouse emissions, thereby, significantly reducing your bills as well as safeguarding the environment.
Set Up a Programmable Thermostat
Setting up a programmable thermostat is another great home improvement idea to significantly save on energy. Basically, what you will need to do is set up a programmable thermostat to certain temperatures for the different times of the day. This means that if you are at home, you can have a certain temperature set up and if you are out you can do the same accordingly. Doing so helps in reducing the unnecessary heating and cooling of your home when it is not required. In fact, what’s even better is setting up a smart thermostat. These devices can automatically change your temperature based on your daily routine and can be controlled through your smartphone.
Install Energy-Efficient Doors
If the doors at your homes are not properly insulated, then there is bound to be quite a lot of heat gain or loss, therefore, just like it’s important to upgrade to energy-efficient windows, so is it imperative to install energy-efficient doors. Old, draughty doors should be replaced with energy-efficient doors to help save on your energy bills, improve the comfort of your home, and also increase your property’s value. Compared to conventional wooden doors, energy-efficient doors are generally made of insulated fiberglass or steel that provides better insulation. Another important thing to check for, especially for metal doors is that they should be Energy Star certified.
Upgrade to Energy-Efficient Windows
Another significant and impactful home improvement idea is changing or upgrading your home to energy-efficient windows. These windows basically help prevent any cool or hot air – during winter or summer - from escaping, thereby, ensuring that your HVAC system doesn’t have to work super hard. Having a double or triple-pane with low-emissivity (low-E) glass, which is basically a special coating that helps reflect heat energy inside (during winter) or outside (during summer) the house. Besides, these windows have spacers that keep the panes at the right distance so that the heat flow is reduced and they have insulated frames that significantly improve thermal performance. Therefore, upgrading to energy-efficient windows means not only cutting down on a lot of your heating and cooling costs but also a comfortable home environment.
Opt for Energy-Efficient Roofing
Opting for energy-efficient roofing is equally an impactful home improvement idea like energy-efficient windows and doors. This is because your roof plays an important role in regulating the temperature of your home. Asphalt shingles which is a conventional roofing material used can actually absorb a lot of heat and thus make your home quite warm in the summer. This results in you using a lot more air conditioning which increases your energy usage and of course the cost. Therefore, if you choose energy-efficient roofing materials such as tiles or reflective shingles, you will not only reduce the heat in your homes but also reduce your energy bills considerably. Additionally, less heat absorption means the lifespan of your roof also increases to a great extent.
Install Low-Flow Fixtures
Water heating is one of the main reasons for energy usage and high cost. This particularly impacts homes that have outdated plumbing a lot more. Therefore, one great way to improve and reduce your water heating costs is by installing low-flow fixture toilets, showers, faucets, etc., to reduce the flow of your water. These low-flow fixtures do not impact the water pressure but they help you save up water as well as the energy cost. Besides, low-flow fixtures can help you save up to thousands of gallons of water in a year as they use half the amount of water than regular fixtures. Therefore, installing low-flow fixtures not only helps with energy costs but is greatly beneficial for the environment as well.
Seal Air Leaks and Improve Insulation
One of the easiest and simplest home improvement ideas is sealing any air leak in your home. Whether it is your doors, windows, or any gap or crack in your rooms, the air can easily escape out or come into your home, thereby, leading to your HVAC system working harder and using a lot more energy. The best way to prevent this from happening is weatherstripping or caulking your doors and windows. Another thing that you can do is improve the insulation of your home by using materials such as fiberglass, spray foam, rigid foam, etc., to minimize heat from escaping during the winter and entering your home during the summer.
Insulate Your Water Heater or Get a Tankless Water Heater
There is no doubt that your water heater takes up a lot of energy and contributes to your energy bills exponentially. Especially, if it is an old water heater then there might be a lot of heat loss. For this, we suggest installing an insulating blanket around the water heater. Doing so will contribute significantly in the reduction of the heat loss that’s happening and in turn the energy cost too. What’s even better is installing a tankless water heater or a demand-type or instantaneous water heater. These tankless water heaters convert more energy into hot water because they have a greater Energy Factor (EF). These tankless heaters only heat up water when needed and since they do not have to keep the water hot when not in use, this helps save up a lot of your energy cost.
Set Up a Rainwater Harvesting System
If you want to reduce your dependence on your municipal water supply to some extent and reduce your water bills, then installing a rainwater harvesting system is a great way to do so. You can collect and store rainwater for various household chores, which not only helps lower your bills but also benefits the environment in many ways.
In conclusion, if you incorporate these energy-saving home improvement ideas you will see a significant reduction in your energy usage and energy cost. Whether it is installing solar panels or solar designs, upgrading to energy-efficient lighting, doors, windows, roofing, or appliances, installing a programmable thermostat or low-fixtures, etc., including as many of these home improvement ideas will ensure you have an energy-efficient, cost-effective, comfortable, and sustainable home.
