Saving Money With An Energy Efficient Home

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Many of us are on a tight budget. We are trying to make cost-effective decisions on a daily basis in our lives and around the home. We might be cutting back on luxury items and vacations. We may be making meal plans to ensure that no food is going to waste. We might also be engaging in more free activities with the kids such as hiking or going to the park rather than to a restaurant or the cinema. However, our budget may not be working for us if we are not taking steps to ensure that our home is energy efficient.

Our home can be wasting energy on a daily basis without us realizing. This means that it is wasting money too. If we take steps to make our house more energy-efficient, over the course of a year we may save ourselves hundreds of dollars. This can then be invested in a family vacation or much-needed renovation, rather than simply disappearing into a black hole. It can be hard to know where to begin when making sweeping changes, so why not start with the suggestions below?

Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

The modern home tends to have a lot of lights. Whether in the walls, ceiling, or as stand-alone lamps, the average household has several light bulbs. While we may know to switch off lights and switches when we are not using them, we may not be aware that our bulbs can waste energy while switched on too. Energy efficient light bulbs are now far more readily available than they once were. LED bulbs use only a fraction of the energy of their incandescent counterparts. LED bulbs also tend to be durable and resistant to jarring. If we have little ones running around, they can be less likely to cause damage. They also stay cooler and thus need to be replaced less frequently. This saves us money in both the short and long term. Studies have shown that the use of lighting can account for as much as 25% of the average home energy bill. From a financial perspective, therefore, it is worth giving some serious thought.

Tinted Windows

If you are fortunate enough to live in a warm climate, keeping the house cool in the Summer can rapidly become expensive. Window tinting or window film can help reduce this cost by blocking solar heat. Your house is naturally able to stay cooler, and your property is less likely to be damaged by Ultra-Violet Light. UVA light can cause significant fading of furniture, fabrics, art and photographs. Window tinting reduces the glare of sunlight, protecting both your eyes and your items. It has become one of the most popular ways to save energy in the home in recent years.

Good Insulation

During the cooler months, it is essential that we are heating our home effectively. This can help keep us and our family comfortable and healthy, but it also reduces the risk of damp. The damage caused by frozen pipes can be costly, so it is important to maintain a warm temperature. Poor insulation in our roof and windows, in particular, can let out warm air and allow cool air inside. This means that, even when our heating is high, the effect is hindered. This wastes a significant amount of both money and energy. Poor insulation has been shown to be one of the most common causes of a high energy bill. Insulating a home effectively may seem like an expense initially, but it can save us a lot of money in the long term.

How do you save energy in your home?

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