Once you move into a home, whether it’s old or new, there’s more than just the mortgage to consider as an ongoing monthly expense. A home still needs a lot of energy to keep the residents comfortable, such as natural gas and electricity for lights and air conditioning in the summer. If you want to keep these expenses down, there are a few ways you can upgrade your home for better energy efficiency.

Get Your Home Insulated

Some people mistakenly think that insulation is only good for keeping your home warm in the winter, but it’s also essential for keeping your home cooler! When you insulate your walls and your roof with newer materials, such as cellulose, you get a layer of thermal protection that keeps the outdoor air from leaking in, while it also prevents your warm or cool air from leaking out.
Insulation is a very effective way to reduce both your heating bills in the winter and your cooling bills in the summer. It maintains your preferred temperature for longer periods, meaning your HVAC system doesn’t have to turn on as frequently.

Use LED Lighting Systems

Making the switch over to LED light bulbs throughout the home is a case of a higher initial investment with long term benefits. There’s no doubt that modern LED lightbulbs cost more to buy than the traditional filament lightbulbs that have been in use for decades. However, that higher cost translates to less money spent in the long term.

LED bulbs use much less electricity compared to filament lightbulbs while generating the same amount of light. A bright filament light bulb that pulls 60 watts of power from your home’s electrical supply can be replaced with an LED bulb just as bright that uses only 8-12 watts of power. Moreover, LED bulbs last far longer than filament lightbulbs, years longer in some cases, so not only do you use less electricity from month to month, you don’t replace the bulbs as frequently either.

Install New Water Appliances

Water is another monthly expense to be considered, but if you want to save money in the long term, one of the best things you can do is invest in newer water-consuming appliances. If your laundry machine, dishwasher, or toilets were installed in the home before 1996, chances are they are using far more water than is necessary.

New appliances, such as a dishwasher, for example, can, when used properly, consume far less water than washing dishes by hand, saving you money every day. In the same way, new toilets and new washing machines are also much more efficient about water consumption, so if you make the choice to invest in these newer appliances now, you’ll be rewarded for it with lower water bills every month.

If you think it’s time to renovate your home, maybe it’s also time to improve energy efficiency. We can help! Contact Empire Construction Group and let us know what you’re planning.