If your house is a few years old, you may be looking into renovating it to ensure it looks and feels as new as ever. However, home renovations aren’t always about aesthetics. You can also renovate your home to make it more energy-efficient. There are a number of easy and affordable home renovation ideas that can help you save on energy. Moreover, employing simple energy-saving ideas in your home will also help cut back your utility bills.
In this post, we’ll highlight some of the best home renovation ideas for improving energy efficiency, from adding insulation to upgrading your appliances. Whether you’re just starting to think about renovating your home or you’re already well underway, be sure to keep these tips in mind!
8 Energy-Efficient Home Renovation Ideas
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Before you start implementing energy-efficient home renovations, it is always wise to get a professional energy audit. An energy auditor will inspect your insulation and check your doors and windows for air leaks. They will also look at other aspects of your home to judge where you could make energy-efficient improvements. Let’s look at what upgrades will ensure energy savings in your home!
1. Install a Smart Thermostat
Smart home thermostats can help save a substantial percentage of money that is spent on cooling and heating. They offer various features that can help improve your home’s energy efficiency. For instance, you can set smart schedules according to your daily routine. This not only provides convenience but also results in savings. With the geofencing feature, you can have your AC automatically adjust the temperature to save energy when you leave the home and return to your usual settings upon your arrival. This helps you avoid heating or cooling an empty home. Using the energy usage tracking that most smart thermostats like Cielo offer, you can monitor your daily, weekly, and monthly energy consumption. Using real-time data, you can set goals to lower your bills.
Opt for Smart AC Controllers for Your Room Air Conditioners
Smart AC controllers can help make any mini-split, window and portable AC smart in minutes. These smart devices act like a thermostat for your ductless units. You just have to install the smart AC controller and pair it with your AC using your home WiFi. Then you can control your unit from anywhere using your phone and make changes on the go. Plus, you can use that to set daily/weekly schedules, track your AC usage, and even turn on the unit before your arrival. The optimal usage of all these smart features can help you save big on your bills and improve home energy efficiency.
2. Upgrade Your HVAC Unit
Home renovations are an opportunity to upgrade your appliances. Newer HVAC units are more efficient than older models. If your HVAC unit is more than ten years old, look for energy star certified models to guarantee you get the best bang for your buck. Energy star-certified HVAC units have a higher SEER and EER rating and use less energy than conventional air conditioners.
Also, consider upgrading any other old appliances, such as dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, etc., that are notorious energy hogs.
3. Install Ceiling Fans
During a heatwave, constantly running your air conditioner is tempting, to say the least. However, unless you’re willing to pay sky-high electricity bills, continuously running the AC is unsustainable. In such a case, ceiling fans are your best friend. Ceiling fans help improve air circulation. They also wick away sweat, creating a cooling sensation. If you use a ceiling fan, you can also raise the AC temperature without affecting your comfort!
4. Switch to LED Bulbs
If you’re renovating your house, don’t miss out on the opportunity to swap your light bulbs with newer, more energy-efficient ones. LED bulbs are more energy-efficient than older CFL or incandescent bulbs. Moreover, they also have a longer lifespan, so you won’t have to replace them frequently.
5. Invest in an On-Demand Water Heater
Water heaters are one of the most expensive appliances to run. Standard water heaters constantly keep a large amount of hot water ready to be supplied at any time. Naturally, that requires a lot of excess electricity/fuel because the water heater must run even when you’re not using hot water. On the other hand, an on-demand water heater only heats the water you are currently using. For homes that use less than 41 gallons of hot water per day, on-demand water heaters can be 24%-34% more energy-efficient.
6. Add Some Extra Insulation
Bite the bullet and upgrade the insulation if you’re conducting extensive home renovations. Before adding more insulation, you need to find the quality and amount of existing insulation. A good energy auditor can tell you both of these things. If you don’t want to pay for an energy audit, you can inspect the insulation yourself. After evaluating the current state of insulation, you can use the US Department of Energy’s insulation fact sheet to check where and what type of insulation you need to add. Get yourself a great insulation for your windows under your budget.
7. Replace Your Windows
Single-pane windows are one of the biggest culprits behind heat loss and increased energy bills. They’re also easier to break and have poor soundproofing abilities. Replacing older single pane windows with Energy Star-certified windows can save you a lot of money.
8. Install Low-Flow Plumbing Fixtures
Most of the water is wasted during showering, using the toilet, or washing hands. This is because regular showers, taps, and toilets use more water than is required – literally flushing it down the drain. On the other hand, low-flow plumbing fixtures use the minimum amount of water needed to get the job done. In some cases, low-flow plumbing fixtures use 60% less water than regular plumbing fixtures. They are also relatively cheaper to install.
In Conclusion
Many homeowners are looking for ways to reduce their energy bills, and one of the best ways to do this is to make energy-efficient home improvements. There are a number of different home renovation ideas, such as investing in a smart thermostat or a smart AC controller. In addition, you can save even more money by making sure the appliances are not the older models that drain a lot of energy. With these improvements, it won’t be long before your electricity bill plummets. So what are you waiting for? Get started on your journey towards a greener home today!
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