A Guide To Energy Efficiency At Home

Having energy efficient homes can be the best way we can reduce the amount of electricity we use each year.

There are many things to consider when either building or upgrading one of these energy efficient homes and knowing your options is one of the first steps in making the right decision for you that will fit your budget.

A key feature in most new home designs is energy efficiency. If constructing a new home is the choice you are going to make, there are many different options available to you that will make the house less expensive to operate by increasing it’s energy efficiency.

One of the easiest things to do for your new home is to upgrade the insulation. To make a large postive change in energy consumption this can be a rather inexpensive option.

Since the walls are exposed this will be the best time to do this upgrade and it will be a lot cheaper than trying the do it sometime later. If you can find the extra money for it, you should look into upgrading the insulation while the home is being built. This insulation can take many forms and there are many new products on the market today to help you improve your insulation factor.

Traditional insulation materials such as fiberglass rolls have been improved. These are higher in insulating properties and also smaller in thickness than they were previously. There are also other solutions available that are based on recycled materials that provide amazing insulation for less money and can be a great alternative for many homeowners.

Also, when a new home is being built, many builders insulate the basic home and skip many locations like crawlspaces and attics that really should be insulated. Having the insulation in these locations upgraded while construction is going on will not cost you much money and will significantly lower your energy costs.

Another area that can help in these energy efficient homes is the type and location of your windows. There are very advanced window designs available today that can save you a lot of heating costs by blocking the leakage of your heat through the glass.

Some of the double paned windows on the market today are several times more efficient than standard offerings from builders and are only a small upgrade cost per window. These newer windows will use a specialized gas that is sealed between the planes that reduces drafts and also helps reduce the transfer of heat though the window.

Upgrading these windows now will allow you to reduce your heating and energy bills and will pay for itself a number of times over the life of your house. As well, changing the windows for a more energy efficient model when the house is being built is considerably less costly because the window frame will be exposed. Switching the windows out later is harder to do and you will have to remove the insulation and the siding, which may compromise the insulation put in around around the window. It would be irritating to change the window out at a later date and find that you are losing energy through drafts that developed when you replaced the window.

Where you place these windows is also of importance. Energy efficient homes will often have larger windows on the side of their building that receives the most sun to allow them to take advantage of sunlight to reduce their electricity bills for lighting. Also, skylights are easy to install and relatively inexpensive and can help with your lighting needs as well. You can lower your energy usage by a considerable amount by using natural light, and that will reduce the need to have so many lights on in the home during daylight hours.

For a complete guide to making your home energy efficient please visit www.residentialrenewableenergy.com.