Green is IN. One of the hottest trends in home design NOW is to have energy efficiency features in mind. Eco-friendly homes can reduce the need for investment in energy infrastructure, reduce energy bills, improve health and increase environmental benefit. Making your home eco-friendly is easier than you think. With a few minor changes, you can make a huge difference.
Consider using these types of green products in your home:
1. Compact Flourescent Light Bulbs (CFL)
Changing your lighting to energy efficient bulbs is probably the easiest energy efficient improvement you can do. CFLs use 70% less energy than regular bulbs and can give you savings of $30 per bulb's lifetime.
2. Eco-friendly Flooring
Bamboo, cork and eucalyptus flooring are eco-friendly alternatives to hardwood floors. They are also stylish and affordable.
Many home owners choose bamboo as an eco-friendly alternative hardwood flooring. Bamboo is durable and sustainable. It shares the same characteristics as hardwood but it is made from natural vegetation and grows to maturity in 3-5 years as compared to other trees which can take twenty years to grow.
Cork can be seen on your favorite wine bottles but it is also great material for floors. It has anti-microbial properties that reduce allergens in the home, is fire retardant, easy to maintain and acts as natural insect repellant too. Cork floors, can last between 10-30 years, depending on the quality.
Eucalyptus tree is renewable and can be harvested in as little as 14 years. It is affordable as well, eucalyptus flooring is about half the price of traditional wood flooring.
3. Energy Star Windows
You can save energy bills by replacing your windows to an energy efficient ones. Energy Star windows help keep the heat inside during the winter.
Installing energy efficient home features will benefit you in the long run. Consider installing these eco-friendly features in your home:
1. Home Insulation
Home insulation is one of the most important energy efficient improvement you can do to your home. This is because insulating materials effectively keep the heat in your room when the weather is cold.
You can save as much as 40% on your energy bill since your heater does not need to run as hard since your home is getting the right kind of temperature. You will recuperate the costs of installing the insulating materials in the long run if you add up all your monthly savings in energy bills.
Insulation materials are also sound proof. This is useful if you are living in a populated area where noise pollution is common.
Your home's market value increases if your home is well insulated. Should you decide to sell, your home will surely get a higher price. And since the trend is towards eco-friendly homes, your home will definitely sell faster.
2. More Efficient Toilets
The modern toilets are more energy efficient than the first low-flow models. Their bowls and tanks are designed to use less water. In an average home, flushing toilets accounts for about 30% of water usage. The energy efficient models can reduce that
use of up to 25%.
3. Induction Cooktops
Induction cooktops cook faster than the regular cooktops. It also uses far less energy.
4. Tankless Water Heaters
A solar water heater can reduce costs by up to 80% a year and will prevent more than 50 tons of carbon dioxide emissions over its 20-year life span.
If
you are planning to upgrade any of your appliances, choose appliances
with Energy Star logo on them. Products like dishwashers, refrigerators,
computers and TVs use 10-50% less energy and water than standard
models, more than making up for
the slightly higher cost of these products.
More and more home owners are going green. Opting to live in an eco-friendly home is becoming a conscious effort for home owners. The benefit of going green isn't just about money, it also improves home quality and home owner comfort, demands lower energy and reduces air pollution.
James Team Real Estate is pro-green. If you need assistance in turning your home green. We have strong connections with certified professionals that we would be happy to refer.
