Image Source: Envato

If you’ve just decided to remodel or improve your home, making it energy efficient has to be a priority. Although you may not have noticed it yet, there are many ways you could be spending more on energy bills. Making your home energy efficient would make it more comfortable and help you save money. If you love home improvement projects that are both environmentally friendly and easy to execute, these ones will excite you.

Let’s begin.

Replace Your Roof with Cool Steel Roofing

One of the best ways to be energy efficient in your home is to reduce the amount of heat that gets into the house during the hot season. A cool steel roofing is great because it reflects sunlight rays while absorbing less heat than a conventional roof. This kind of roof does this because of its:

• Highly reflecting paint

• Reflective shingles or tiles

• Sheet covering

• Special pigments set into the coating for reflective purposes

With this roof, you can also expect to have a cooler house because the roof’s reflective coating re-emits heat each time the temperature outside cools off. Conversely, traditional roofing usually radiates the stored heat into the house long after the temperature has dropped, creating the need for cooling.

Having a good quality cool roof steel would therefore reduce your energy bills considerably because you won’t have to use your cooling system much. If you love protecting the environment, you’d be happy to know that this roof reduces power plant emissions and power outages by reducing electricity demand.

Install New Doors and Windows or Seal the Ones You Have

According to the United States Department of Energy, windows are responsible for up to 30% of the amount of energy we use to heat or cool our homes. Therefore, if you want to reduce the need to heat or cool your home constantly, you may have to consider adding weather stripping around your windows. However, if your house has older single-pane windows, it may not be enough to seal around the frame. In that case, you will need to replace the windows with energy-efficient windows. Such windows are either double-glazed or triple-glazed. Double-glazed windows contain two sheets of glass and a 16mm space in between. The latter contains three sheets of glass separated by two gaps. These gaps are filled with an insulator inert gas or regular air which insulates the window.

Similarly, you should have your doors insulated or replaced with energy-efficient doors if necessary. Notably, garage doors are usually the ones that we neglect the most. Inspect all your doors for any damages, starting with your garage door. You can find a contractor to conduct a professional garage door repair and leave it well insulated.

Like windows, reputable companies provide energy-efficiency ratings for doors. If insulating your doors is not an option, you can get an A++ to gain maximum energy efficiency.

Install High-Efficiency Appliances

To lower your energy bills, you need to consider replacing your high-energy appliances. If your home is more than 15 years old, you may benefit from installing a new furnace or air conditioner. Going by the current standards, heating and cooling systems that were installed 15 to 20 years ago are inefficient. Over the last two decades, there have been countless developments in the heating and air conditioning industry. Getting a high-quality, modern system will definitely lower your energy consumption, and the energy savings will start adding up.

Insulate Your Attic

We both know that hot air rises. It’s no wonder attics account for the largest levels of heat loss in a typical home. If your attic is not well insulated, this is your chance to do it and become more energy efficient. Actually, doing so can save you up to 30% on utility costs.

However, since the local climate helps us determine the amount of insulation we require in our houses, you may need to get an expert to help you make that decision and even help you conduct the actual insulation.

While insulating this area, make sure no spaces or gaps are left around the studs.

Having a cold steel roofing, replacing or insulating your windows and doors, installing high-efficiency appliances, and insulating your attic are excellent ways to reduce your energy consumption, reduce your energy costs, and save the environment. Get started today!