You should always stay on top of your home’s bills, keep it as clean as possible, and make sure your home is well stocked with groceries. Additionally, you need to be consciously thinking about how to achieve a much more energy-efficient home.
In the past, property owners didn’t concern themselves with energy efficiencies, as much. But that has certainly changed. Now, it’s a crucial aspect of homeownership.
From working with air conditioning repair professionals to planting a few more trees, here are some excellent ways to make your entire home more energy-efficient:
- Upgrade your appliances — Energy Star certified central air conditioning units have much higher seasonal energy efficiency ratios (SEER) and energy efficiency ratios (EER) than conventional models. This makes upgraded ACs approximately 15% more efficient than older units. Keep in mind, though upgrading your AC units are great, you should stay on top of your air conditioning repair needs in order to avoid expensive work down the line and keep your current AC units working properly.
- Plant shade trees and shrubs on your lawn — If your home is older or has relatively poor insulation, deciduous trees can save you a significant amount of money down the line. If you plant trees on the west side of your home, the foliage will block even more infrared radiation during the summer and will allow that warmth to enter during the winter since the branches will be bare.
- Research tax incentives — Doing a little research online can help you save money and improve your home’s energy efficiencies, as well. Federal tax incentives are available for efficiency upgrades to existing properties. These improvements can include windows, insulation, solar photovoltaic, geothermal heat pumps, and appliance upgrades.
- Get rid of incandescent lights — The average household uses approximately 11% of its energy budget for lighting. Traditional incandescent lights only convert around 10% of energy entering the home into light and the rest becomes heat. Using light-emitting diodes (LED) can reduce the energy use required by your home’s lighting by as much as 75%.
If you want to learn more about the importance of air conditioning maintenance and work with qualified air conditioning repair companies, contact Total Air Inc. right away!
