How Parkland Homeowners can Improve Energy Efficiency in Their Home

With the recent rising cost of many different costs of living Parkland homebuyers are looking for ways to easily save on expenses in day-to-day life. One of the most popular ways to cut back on living expenses is by making your Parkland home more energy efficient. Paying electricity bills is one of the largest costs of daily operations in a home and as such reducing energy consumption can help significantly reduce your living expenses.

Here are some tips for making your Parkland home more energy efficient

Consider scheduling an energy audit

One of the best ways to determine how much energy your Parkland home is using and some easy areas to cut back and make it more efficient is with a professional energy audit. During an energy audit, a professional assessor visits your home to check it for items that could be using a significant amount of energy. They also check the home for any leaks around windows and doors as well as test chimneys and check the insulation.

This assessment can cost anywhere between $100 and $500 but larger homes may cost into the thousands. Some energy companies may offer consultations free of charge to help you determine some easy areas where you can make simple changes and cut back on your energy consumption.

 Check out the Department of Energy website

 On the Department of Energy website there is a tool called the home energy saver this tool can help owners to determine the needed amount of insulation that they can add to their home based on plugging in a few factors about your property. It is like giving your home an energy audit on your own. It can help to give advice about improving the efficiency of your home. This is a great option if you do not have the money to spend on a more in-depth professional energy audit.

 Check windows and doors for air leaks

 This is a fairly easy way to determine the efficiency of your home's windows and doors. All you have to do is run your hand along the edges of your windows and doors to see if you can feel any airflow. If you do this means that there is an air leak. Air leaks are a major cause of heat loss as well as absorption. You can significantly reduce the cost of heating and cooling your home by 15% when making sure that these areas of your home are airtight.

 Consider a cold wash for your laundry

 Simply making the switch from a hot or warm water rinse in your laundry to a cold rinse can save you around $250 a year in your electric bill. What is nice is that there are several detergents now making more compatible cleaning agents with cold water allowing you to receive great results while saving some energy. Additionally, cold water can be a little bit less harsh on your clothing and prolong the life of some of your clothes. Heating the water accounts for 90% of your washing machine's energy use.

 Replace your HVAC filters on a regular basis

 This is something that is very low cost and surprisingly many homeowners do not do it as often as necessary. Having a filter that is not full of caulking debris can help your HVAC system to not run harder than it needs to and as such consume more energy than it should. It is recommended that filters be changed every 30 to 90 days depending on how dirty they become. It is a smart choice to check your air filters every 30 days. Just keeping a clean filter can reduce energy consumption in the system by 15%.

 Look for energy suckers

 There are several different things around our homes that cannot drain and use power even when we are not thinking about it. The most common culprits include coffee makers, laptops, televisions, cable boxes, gaming consuls, and other things that stay plugged in while not being used. One big energy sucker that many people are unaware of is smart technology as it stays on 24/seven which demands more energy usage. In some homes, phantom energy users can account for around 40% of energy use at one time.

 It is always a good idea to make small adjustments so that you can save some money here and there on the cost of living while also helping out the demand for energy on overtaxed energy grants. It is said that in peak hours energy is charged at a higher rate so it’s also a good idea to try and do things like wash your dishes or your laundry during non-peak hours

 For more information on real estate in Parkland please contact us anytime.