When buying Owen Sound Homes for Sale, we tend set our focus on the aesthetics but tend overlook things such as windows, doors and roofs. This can become problematic down the road and lead to a large increase in hydro end electric costs. You avoid this situation by making some simple changes to your new home. Maximize the savings on your energy bills each year and wind up with a little more money in your pocket. Follow these simple tips on how to have an energy efficient home, without breaking the bank.
Heat And Cool Your Owen Sound Home More Efficiently
It can be difficult to find a comfortable temperature during the summer and winter months. Blasting the Air Conditioning or cranking up the heat will wreak havoc on your wallet.
- Invest in a fan – Try to hold off on the air-conditioning as long as possible by installing ceiling fans. These will help to circulate the air and give you nice breeze. If you are just too hot, try turning your air on to a slightly warmer than normal temperature and using the fans to make it more comfortable.
- Keep your curtains closed – It may sound simple but drawing the curtains can have a major affect on the temperature of your home. This is due to the curtains acting as an insulator to your room and preventing your warm or cool air from leaving. As an added bonus, in the summer having drawn curtains will help block out a fair amount of the hot sunlight.
Invest In Energy Efficient Lighting
Though the major contributor to your energy bill is your heat or air conditioning, your electricity consumption is also a large factor. On average, Owen Sound Homes dedicate 11% of their total energy budget to lighting alone. By making simple changes, such as changing your incandescent lights with LEDs or CFLs, you could reduce your total energy consumption by much as 75%, making it well worth the investment.
Properly Insulate Your Home
The goal is to reduce your spending on energy. By properly sealing and insulating your Owen Sound Home you can be sure that the air you spent so much money on cooling or heating will stay inside your home. Properly sealing your home has the added bonus of dramatically improving air quality by reducing the amount of outside pollutants that sneak in. Not properly insulating your windows and doors can have the opposite affect, and can be by far one of the biggest contributors to overly high-energy bills. Approximately one-third of Owen Sound Home’s total heat loss can be attributed to windows and doors not being properly insulated. Sealing all window and door edges, as well as the cracks, can be the difference between big savings or big expenses and is by far the most important change to make.
By implementing these simple changes you can make a big, and lasting, change to your total energy costs and feel good about helping the environment in the process.