Deciding to make renovations to your home can be one of the biggest challenges you may face, especially when you have young children at home. This is because it can be a costly undertaking and you may have to live with the decisions you make for a long time. However, renovating your home can offer you the ideal opportunity to come up with designs that improve the efficiency of your home and savings on energy usage.
Most home owners will attest to the fact that energy bills take a large portion of your budget. Thus, when you make smart energy saving choices, you will end up saving more in the long term. Here are some pointers to help you design make an energy efficient home.
1) Solar panels
When thinking of energy savings, solar panels should be the first thing to come in mind. This is because solar energy is free. However, while initial installation of solar panels may seem expensive, the payoffs are usually worth it. It is however advisable to take into account whether the area you live would be ideal to set up solar panels. Even if you may not be able to entirely rely on solar power, you may use it in conjunction with electricity provided by other providers to reduce your energy bills. You may also find that you are producing more than you need, in which case you can sell the surplus to utility companies.
There a wide range of schemes set-up in the UK to help homeowners get solar panels on their home for free. I recommend checking out Which.co.uk to read more around each scheme.
 |
| flickr.com/photos/jonsowman/6324844465/ |
2) Improve the Insulation of you home
The insulation you have on your home will greatly impact on your energy usage. You can improve the insulation of you home by fixing cracks or small openings which allow air from outside entering you home. You may also want to check for leaks in places such as the attic, ducts, door, windows and fireplace dampers. One of the cost effective method of dealing with leaks is to use foam insulation to seal off cracks. By improving on the insulation of you home, you will reduce the amount of energy needed to heat up your homes and thus save on overall energy costs.
3) Replace windows & making use of daylight sun
You may find that your windows will be one of the biggest culprits when it comes to inefficient insulation in your home. This could be because your windows are old and faulty, they may be accounting to a large percentage of energy loss. Recent innovations have seen the development of energy-efficient window panels. These windows are designed to reduce heat loss in cold days by being less-emissive and reducing air conditioning costs on hots days by being spectrally-selective. You may also want to use window frames made of fibreglass, wood and vinyl since they are better at insulating your home when compared to aluminium.
The location of your windows will also have a huge impact on your comfort and how you use energy in your home. It is advisable to place your windows where they make maximum use of the daylight. You may opt for VELUX windows, which are renowned for creating energy efficient homes, enable you to make use of daylights and bring in fresh air to your home.
The VELUX website is a well recommended destination for these innovative and quality window solution. They even have themed blinds for the kids!
4) Use efficient lighting
Inefficient lighting can make your energy bills shoot up. It is advisable to switch to efficient lighting such as the use of LEDs, such as from online stores like Neon Mama, which do not consume as much power as Compact Fluorescent light bulbs. You may also find that you are likely to alter your wiring to have an efficient lighting system that enables you save on costs.
Not all lighting needs to be efficient, as it is all about being sensible and using lighting on a need only basis. Having a lava lamp night light for your kids is fine, as long as you are not leaving it on unnecessarily.
 |
| flickr.com/photos/antonfomkin/5243218781/ |
5) Use energy efficient appliances
You may find that some of your old appliances are not energy efficient. Thus, you may find the need to replace old appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, dryers and dish washers among others. Most of the energy efficient appliances come with certified labels to show they meet the required standards.
The Energy Saving Trust are a leading and trusted organisation helping people save energy every day. The have a wide range of tools and advice to help any home save energy and money.
6) Use programmable thermostat
You may opt to invest in a modern thermostat which you can program to start heating your home at a particular time. The market even has thermostats that can be programmed remotely. Whatever your needs of renovating your home, always try to make it as energy efficient as your possibly can.
Thanks for reading, please let me know if you have ever implemented any of the above or have anything to add.
No comments:
Post a Comment