Between keeping your home warm in winter and cool in the summer, keeping your car filled up and using the shower, energy and utility costs are among the biggest expenses we all face.
Aside from the obvious want to keep your home expenses down, the more we spend on energy, the more harm we’re doing to the world we live in!
Whatever your motivations, you may be mulling over some home improvements to make your home more energy efficient. Here are some great ones to look into.
Solar Water Heaters
Like many, you may have looked into solar energy before, and got cold feet when you realised how much a full array of solar panels can cost.
Fortunately, this isn’t the only way to harness the power of the sun for a more energy-efficient home. By installing a solar water heater, you can shave a lot off of your energy expenses for a much lower up-front payment.
Though many aren’t aware of it, solar water heaters pay for themselves much faster than solar panels. This is mainly due to the higher efficiency and lower up-front costs. Solar heating systems start at around £1,000, and will pay for themselves in roughly two years.
Invest in Double Glazing
Just like poor insulation, if you’re living in a home that still has single-glazed windows, you’re going to be losing a lot of heat and therefore money over the year.
One study found that roughly a quarter of annual heating and cooling costs can be attributed to heat escaping the home, whether through a poorly insulated roof or single-pane windows.
Though it takes a pretty big up-front payment, and isn’t always the most convenient home improvement to make, double glazing is hugely effective for making a home more energy efficient.
While this improvement certainly isn’t cheap, there are a lot of vendors and services you can choose from, so do your research through review and comparison sites like Double Glazing Experts.
Whatever you pay, the difference to your energy costs will be staggering, and the investment will pay for itself in a few years. Check the windows in your home, and see if any of them could use replacement or better sealing.
Wind Generators
When you hear the term “wind generator”, the first thing that pops into your mind is probably those towering white turbines you see in coastal towns and dotted along the sides of motorways.
However, you can purchase smaller versions of these, which can be fixed to your roof and generate massive amounts of energy. While I’d like to give you an estimate, the price of wind generators can vary massively.
Some can be built using different parts from DIY shops. Others can be built from kits, which costs slightly more but is much easier, and others still have to be professionally installed, which is of course the most expensive option.
Whichever option you choose, the energy savings that can come from a wind generator are absolutely huge, with some homes able to offset a massive 90% of their electrical needs.