Energy Efficient Updates for Your New Home

You always discover opportunities for improvement when you move into a home, regardless of its age. Whether it was built in the 19th century or constructed in the last few months to your precise specs, no home is ever truly finished. Never has this been more true than it is today, when state-of-the-art developments in construction methods and home appliances are helping to make homes more energy efficient. Here are just a few suggested top energy efficient updates available that you can perform on your home.

Save Some Green with Energy Efficient Updates

Caulk It Up

A caulk gun is a cheap and easy way of making your home energy efficient that doesn’t require any fancy appliance upgrades. All you have to do is spot a crack and fill it up. Weather stripping is another addition that, when placed around doors and windows, can cut back significantly on the amount of cold air that seeps in your home during the winter or hot air that creeps in during summer.

Take a Peek in the Attic

If you’re moving into a brand-new home, you may not need to reinsulate the attic. But if your relocation has found you in a home that’s been lived in for some time, one of the first things you should do is check the attic for the amount of insulation you’ve got. Hiring a professional to blow another few inches of insulation into your attic could make a huge difference in keeping the warm air in and the cold air out during winter… or vice versa during the dog days of summer.

Go Low-Flow

If the home you’re moving into was built prior to 1994, there’s a good chance that your toilets could be out of date. Installing a low-flow toilet can decrease your water bills significantly. Also, upgrading your home’s faucet fixtures can make a sizable dent in lowering your water consumption.

Upgrade Your Appliances

You don’t have to sink a fortune into solar panels on the roof of your home to perform green home updates. If you have a traditional water heater, consider upgrading to a tankless water heater. This will decrease your overall carbon footprint, provide you with hot water on demand and lower your yearly energy bill by as much as 25 percent. You can also do away with older versions of your refrigerator, dishwasher and washer/dryer combos in exchange for models that are even more energy efficient than the top-of-the-line Energy Star appliances of yesterday.

Get Audited

If you’re not sure where you stand with respect to the energy efficiency of your home but you want to cut back on your emissions and save yourself a wad of money in the process, consider having an energy audit performed. This involves having a professional come to your home to perform a number of tests, after which they’ll tell you exactly where you’re wasting energy and what you can do to improve your circumstance. Contact your local energy company to ask them if they perform home energy audits. If not, they may at least be able to recommend a professional in your area.