Are you tired of spending too much on electricity bills? You might think it’s because of the age of your house, but the truth is no matter how old your house is, you can still convert it into energy-efficient.

Whether you just bought the house or you’ve been living in it for a long time, you can still consider investing in energy efficiency. Contact your custom home builders, and the features you can avail to come up with this type of house. But aside from the builders, there are also specific energy auditors who can analyse your home.

Energy-efficient homes have a lot of various features. However, you don’t need to avail all of those. Instead, you can focus on the features that can bring a great change to your home.

 

If you want to know these main features, then you should check the list below!

1. Sealed construction and good insulation

Whether you’re heating or cooling your home, it’s necessary to make sure that there are no holes that will prevent your house to achieve the temperature you want. Air leakage may damage your heater or air conditioner since they’ll have to work harder to maintain a certain temperature.

As for the doors, windows, and the roof makes sure that there is proper insulation installed. Insulation doesn’t just save money and energy, but it’ll also make you feel comfortable.

If you’re going for a home renovation, let the custom home builders or energy auditor examine the roof and other parts of your house where you can have insulation installed. Moreover, once the insulation has been installed, make sure to have it checked once in a while for proper maintenance.

2. Up-to-date appliances

Do you have existing appliances? If you’ve been using them for quite a long time now, maybe it’s time for a change. It’s okay to hesitate to change old appliances, especially if they still look okay or you’re used to them. Unfortunately, the older the model of these appliances, the higher your electric bill would be.

Nowadays, new appliances usually have energy-saving features. In just one click, you’ll be able to lessen your electric bill.

If you are worried about finding the right energy-saving appliances, you can do further research or ask the personel assigned to the product to help you decide.

3. Good lighting

You might think that lights don’t cost too much energy. However, they account for around 5% of your average consumption. Sure, you can just turn off the light during the day especially if you have big windows and good natural lighting coming in. But when the night comes, you’ll need to turn the light again.

Unfortunately, if you’re still using incandescent bulbs, your electric bill will never go down. Incandescent bulbs are the old-fashion type of bulb that uses heat to produce light, and they don’t last long compared to modern bulbs. So instead of an incandescent bulb, you should switch to LED bulbs as they last longer and only use less electricity.

4. Well-maintained electricity and water source

When were the last time you had your electricity switch box and metre checked? You might think that as long as you constantly have good light and the electricity supply is going well, the source doesn’t have any problems. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

Regular electricity cheque-ups should be done in your house to avoid fire and to save more energy. Who knows, if your switch and cables remain unchecked, you might encounter more serious problems in the future.

Meanwhile, if you often use a water heater and other pumps that require energy, make sure to switch to an energy-saving option too.

5. Install solar panels

Have you heard about solar panels? If you know some households who already made the switch, then you should consider it too. Unfortunately, only a few households are currently using solar panels. But the good news is a lot are considering this kind of change.

Solar panels, as the name suggests, use solar energy to create electricity that you can use for your house. This means that even if you partially switch to solar panels, you’ll be able to save a lot of money on your electric bill.

The main reason why people are still not making the switch is that the initial investment may cost a lot. However, moving forward, you’ll be able to realise how helpful it is.

6. Carefully planned interior design and color palette

If you’re going to have a renovation, it’s best if you minimise the open space. Although open plan living is becoming more popular, it does not help save energy. That’s why you should do some research or directly consult your local custom home builders to help you analyse the energy-saving features you can add to your home.

Additionally, aside from the design, the colour palette or paint of the interior can also save energy. As mentioned before, during the day, you can opt to turn off the lights to save more energy. Furthermore, a light colour palette for the interior can also lessen the need for you to turn the lights on.

 

Are you ready to make the change? If you’ve been mulling-over switching to an energy-efficient home, then now is the right time! Don’t forget to share more tips to save energy at home by leaving a comment below!