Home Improvements to Help Save Energy
As energy prices continue to soar, more and more people are looking for ways to save money. Add to this a growing concern for our impact on the world around us, and you have plenty of motivation for living in a more energy efficient way. Many would not consider home improvement projects as a way to do this, but there are actually several home improvement options to consider that will end up saving you money in the long run. These are energy efficient home improvements, and often the energy savings they provide far outweigh the cost of the project.
Simple Savers If money is a major concern and you do not wish to take out a home loan to help with home improvement projects, there are several simple things you can do that cost very little but will lower your energy bills. For instance, you can install more insulation in your attic to lower your heating and cooling bills by up to 20 percent. You can also do this in your basement or crawlspace if you have one. A storm door on your entry door is another inexpensive energy saver. Installing compact fluorescent light bulbs is yet another quick and easy way to lower your energy bills.
While heating and electric bills are, perhaps, the most commonly thought of energy bills, your water bill is another place where you can save money and reduce your impact on the environment. You can save up to $32 a year by installing a high efficiency showerhead in your shower. A bathroom or kitchen faucet aerator is another addition that can help your house to be more energy efficient.
Bigger Projects to Help Save Energy If you have a little extra money or are willing to take out a loan, there are some larger projects you should consider if you are looking to save energy. One of the biggest energy savers can be installing new windows. Old, drafty windows literally suck the heat out of a home. Newer models are better insulated, have several layers of glass, and often come with promises of reduced energy bills. If you are going to install new windows, look for ones with Energy Star ratings. The same is true for entry doors. Having a drafty entry door saps as much energy from your home as cutting a hole in the wall, yet many people never consider the impact their drafty doors make on their energy bills.
The furnace and air conditioner are other items to consider replacing when looking to save on energy bills. Energy efficient HVAC systems are pricey, but if you live in the United States you can get a substantial tax credit if you install one of these systems, as the government is working to improve energy efficiency across the nation
A tankless water heater is another energy saving home improvement you could consider. The average household spends around 20 percent of its energy money each year on heating water. A tankless water heater heats the water instantly, so there is no need to continuously heat large amounts of water. In a traditional water heater, the constant storage of hot water leads to around 20 percent of energy loss. Since this energy is not lost with a tankless model, this money would be saved.
Having an energy efficient house can be as expensive or affordable as you choose. Even if you do not have the money for the big improvements, doing the little things to reduce your energy consumption will lower your bills and help reduce your impact on the environment. As we all work together to keep our world a green, beautiful place for future generations, consider what you can do around your own home to make a difference.
Plumbing Practices Can Be Environmentally Friendly
Homes in the U.S. typically use about 100 gallons of water per day, which is nearly half of the water supplied by water utilities. That’s a lot of water, so making even some of the smallest modifications to your plumbing system can save you some money, and over time you can save significant money. Now, add up the amount of water usage by all the households in the U.S. (which according to the 2007 census is 111,162,259), it’s easy to see how even the smallest change to everyone’s plumbing systems can make a significant impact on the environment.
You can use a water filtering system in your home to purify enough water to fill more than three-thousand disposable plastic water bottles every year. You would save money by not paying the store mark up on bottled water (and you would know for sure where the water was coming from). A by-product of crude oil is used to produce disposable water bottles, every year more than sixteen million barrels of oil are used in the creation of all of the bottles used in the U.S. By reducing the number of bottles we throw away, we reduce our dependence on crude oil.
Bottled or tap: A water filtration system attached to your faucet (or free-standing) can purify enough water to fill up more than 3,000 disposable plastic water bottles every year. Globally, 38 billion disposable plastic water bottles are thrown out every year. Cutting down on the use of these disposable bottles also reduces crude oil dependency -crude oil by-product is used in plastic water bottle manufacturing, approximately 17 million barrels of oil are used every year just to meet America’s demands for these plastic water bottles. Buy a reusable bottle and fill it with water you filter yourself, you’ll save money and the environment.
Graywater (or greywater) systems: A safe and easy way to collect and filter the water used by faucets, dishwashers, and washing machines, and reuse it for non-potable (non-drinking water) purposes –cutting back on your home’s water consumption. The system recycles water, to water plants for example, reducing your use of fresh, potable water. It also cuts down the amount of water going into your community’s sewage system instead of the soil.
When leaky pipes can’t be repaired because of too many pinhole leaks or another systemic problem, what can you do? Traditionally the solution has been to replace your plumbing system -to repipe, but that means cutting walls open and tearing out pipes. So not only are you throwing away the old pipes and the drywall that had to be removed to get at them, but then you need to replace them with new pipes and drywall. Manufacturing these new materials has an environmental impact.
Leaky pipes: What happens when your leaky pipes are so full of pinhole leaks or can’t be repaired and need to be replaced? A repipe, or pipe replacement, involves cutting open walls and removal of the affected pipes. Not only does this mean you’re throwing away drywall and old pipes, but you’re using new drywall and pipes, each with its own manufacturing toll on the environment.
CuraFlo’s epoxy pipe lining is a “green”, or environmentally friendly alternative to repipe. It involves less mess and takes less time than pipe replacement. More often than not epoxy lining is more cost-effective too. Your pipes are epoxy lined through connections to your existing plumbing fixtures and valves, nearly or completely eliminating the need to cut open walls. Your pipes are cleaned out and epoxy is blown through. Your existing pipes are restored to good as new condition with at least another 50 years of service life.