Tips For an Energy Efficient Home

Rising energy costs has prompted many home owners to try to find ways to lower their energy consumption. High utility bills at the end of the month, after all, are nothing to look forward to. It’s a good thing there are a number of ways that you can make your home more energy efficient. The more energy efficient your home is, the less energy you consume, and that means much lower utility bills. Here are some tips for a more energy efficient home.

Replace your old refrigerator

You might be hanging on to your old refrigerator for sentimental reasons, but that refrigerator of yours is gobbling up a lot of energy. Their energy efficiency does not compare to those of newer models, which not only help you save electricity, but tend to be more spacious too.

Install a programmable thermostat

The thermostat plays a very important role in your energy consumption. Setting it a degree lower or higher can spell the difference between reasonable utility bills and very high ones. Then again, you aren’t always at home to keep an eye on the thermostat. That is why it’s smarter to replace your mechanical thermostat with a programmable one. With a programmable thermostat, you will be able to adjust the temperature even when you’re at work. Typically, a programmable thermostat helps you save up to 15% on your energy costs.

Replace your old water heater

If you’ve been using the same water heater for a long time, perhaps it’s time to buy a new one. Newer models of water heaters, particularly tankless ones, are designed to use less energy, which translates to bigger savings by the time your utility bill comes.

Check out your heating and cooling system

Your HVAC or heating, ventilation and air conditioning system is perhaps the biggest consumer of electricity at home. It even eats up more power when the system is already old as it is forced to work harder to heat or cool your home. If your utility bills don’t go any lower despite your best efforts at conserving energy all around the house, it’s likely that your HVAC system need replacing. If you have it checked and discover that an upgrade is up, you would do well to replace it with a system that has Energy Star certification. As long as your home is well-insulated, you will be able to get huge savings with these new HVAC systems.

Insulate your home well

A well-insulated home is an energy efficient home. Your home may not really be well-insulated if your attic only has R-49 insulation, your walls R-13 and your floors R-30. If this is the case, we highly recommend that you add more insulation. It would also be advisable to scour your entire home for any holes, cracks and gaps that may cause an air leak and seal them using caulk, weatherstripping and expanding foam.

To make sure that your home is well-insulated, you may want to get the help of a trusted handyman, builder or plumber to install the insulation. After all, you will be able to reap its benefits only when it’s installed right, and that is something the tradies of Tradebusters can definitely assure you. Give Tradebusters a call, and you will be able to hire some of the best and most reliable tradies in Australia.