Tips on Home Energy Efficiency – Get Started and Save Now

Contemplating  home improvements to make your home more energy-efficient?  Now is the perfect time to start.!

Home energy efficiency will not only help you save, it will also allow you and your family to help the environment.  An easy way to start helping is to check any old appliances and HVAC (heating, ventilating, air conditioning) systems that are not in good working order.  These older appliances and systems often emit high levels of carbon dioxide.  In addition to carbon dioxide other harmful substances such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are released into the earth’s atmosphere.  These substances are the direct components of acid rain.

Here are some tips related to home energy efficiency.  These tips will help you start saving on your utility bills right away while helping the environment.

1. Make an assessment of all the appliances in your household.  If you find that an appliance is beyond repair then it’s time to get rid of it and move on.   This is also a great way to orgainze your space.  If you find that an appliance is not working properly have a qualified appliance repair technician check to make certain that it can be made to work properly. 

2. Check the HVAC systems in your home. Checking for leaks and repairing them will immediately start to save energy and money.  Any repairs or improvements that you make will help cut down your expenses on both heating and cooling.  Leaks in any of these systems are not only bad for the environment but they cut down on the systems efficiency and therefore add cost to it’s use.

3. Another huge area to investigate is the lighting in your home.   Conventional light bulbs are a good place to start your quest for a more energy efficient  lifestyle.  A single compact fluorescent light bulb can save about $30 over its lifetime and pay for itself in about 6 months.  In addition, it uses 75% less energy and lasts about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.   Also, an energy saving compact fluorescent light bulb does not generate as much heat as an incandescent bulb.  So in addition to cutting down your expenses in lighting, you’re also cutting down your cooling costs during the hot Summer months.

4. Based on what you’ve concluded from the  assessment of your household (see #1), make home improvements by first looking at anything that needs to be replaced or repaired.  Keep in mind that replacing and repairing appliances or heating and cooling systems will pay for themselves in the end.  Also keep in mind that the government will allow tax credits for many of the expenses incurred.  These tax credits can be up to 30% of the total costs or as much as $1500. 

All these tips will get you started right away in not only becoming more friendly to our environment but will begin to save you money quickly.