Six Inexpensive Tips for Making Your Home Energy Efficient

Better Insulate Your Home

A poorly insulated home can increase your monthly home energy costs by 25% or more. For a more energy efficient home, assess the insulation in your home to determine if it meets the standards for your local area per the Department of Energy’s recommendations. See my article on “Insulation R-Values for Homes” to learn what your home needs for insulation. Pay particular attention to your attic, as attics are notorious for having inadequate insulation in them. In addition, adding additional insulation in an attic is an easy do it yourself project.

Replace Old Light Fixtures and Bulbs New compact fluorescent light (CFLs) bulbs and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) bulbs can cut your home’s lighting energy costs by up to as much as 70%. Though more expensive than standard incandescent light bulbs, CFL and LED light bulbs last for thousands of hours. Also, replace some of your old light fixtures that light up an entire room with new spot lighting options, such as in the kitchen. In addition to making your home more energy efficient, this tip will also help to modernize your home and add some unique charm to it.

Update Appliances

New appliances that are Energystar rated are much more efficient than the old clunker refrigerator, dishwasher, washer/dryer, and electric stove appliances you bought 15 years ago. By replacing your old appliances with home energy efficient ones you can cut your electrical utility costs associated with these types of appliances by at least 20%.

Service Home Furnace System Annually It’s important from a home energy efficiency standpoint and a safety perspective to have your home heating furnace serviced annually. Whether it is oil or gas fired, injectors and filters clog up, and burned byproducts can build up in the ductwork, which reduces the energy efficiency of the furnace. Replace Old Thermostats with Programmable Thermostats Running the heat all day in your home while you’re not there is a huge waste of money.

Albeit, walking into a cold home after returning from a day of work is no fun either.

However, by replacing your home’s old thermostats with programmable ones you can dramatically improve your home’s energy efficiency and be able to walk into a warm home when you return in the evening. Programmable thermostats allow you to do such things as automatically turn the heat down during the day when you’re not home, and then turn it up shortly before you return home. Many programmable thermostats also have features that allow weekday and weekend settings.

By implementing these 6 home energy efficiency tips you should be able to reduce your home energy costs by half, as well as play your role in conserving the world’s energy resources.