Improving Energy Efficiency in Your Home

Improving the energy efficiency in your home has two main benefits. Firstly, it can considerably lower your yearly energy bills and secondly, it also contributes towards a greener and healthier planet. If you are thinking that now is the time to start making your own home more energy efficient, here are our top tips.

Lighting
The first and fairly inexpensive change you should make is by swapping your light bulbs for LED energy efficient ones. LED bulbs are up to 90% more energy efficient than regular lightbulbs and last a lot longer too. This will save you money on your bills and buying replacement lightbulbs over time. Remember to use the lowest possible wattage for your needs, which will also reduce your energy consumption and generate less wasted heat.

Stop Draughts & Insulate
Your next step in lowering the energy usage in your home is discovering where energy is being wasted or escaping. One of the biggest causes of wasted energy is draughts in your home and energy escaping through windows, doors and roofs that haven’t been sealed properly, however, there are ways to combat this.

Seal any gaps around your home using weatherstripping, caulk any cracks in windows and doors, use draught excluders or strips on the bottom of your doors and replace light curtains with heavy thermal lined ones. The most effective treatment for energy loss in a home is by getting it fully and professionally insulated, this is a sound investment but will require a bigger initial cost.

Upgrade Appliances
If you are using very old appliances, they will be using more energy to run and costing you a lot more money in the long run. If you haven’t upgraded your appliances to the latest most energy efficient models and you are thinking of lowering your energy usage and costs, now is a good time to upgrade.

Energy efficient appliances will use the least amount of energy to run and will cost you less. If you can’t afford to upgrade right now, keep an eye on the way you use your existing appliances as small changes also go a long way. Only use your dishwasher and washing machine when they have a full load, ensure that you aren’t running an empty fridge or freezer and only boil the least amount of water you need.

Unplug
The cheapest way to ensure that you aren’t using any unnecessary energy in your home is by simply unplugging your appliances when they aren’t in use. Think of all the appliances that are constantly drawing energy in your home including kitchen appliances, laptops, phone chargers, TV’s, games consoles and lamps.

If you have items in your home that don’t need to be plugged in all the time, then switch them off and remove the plug from the wall. This can save you up to 10% on your energy bills and usage each year.

Have you made the switch to becoming more energy efficient yet?

As you can see from our tips, even small changes can make a big impact on your overall energy usage. If you need some expert help to make your home more energy efficient, our friendly team of tradespeople can help. Get your quote from HandyExperts today.