“Go Green†is the mantra to follow, so why not follow it when it comes to remodeling your home. Green remodeling is a great way to improve your home and also cut down on energy costs. Green options are always more economical in the long run.
Most green options will ultimately help you cut down energy consumption, be it electricity or fuel.
Start with small steps like replacing incandescent bulbs with soft fluorescent compact bulbs. The fluorescent bulbs use up to 75% less energy.
When buying electrical appliances choose energy star appliances which will help you cut down on energy consumption.
A few simple actions can help you make your home a greener one. Simple green remodeling will go a long way. Check windows and doors for drafts. You can do it by holding a lighted incense sticks near the edges of a window or door.
Keep an eye on the smoke to mark leaks. Weather stripping or caulking can be used to seal drafts. You can use old rolled towels or “draft snakes†to stop the draft from underneath the doors. These simple gestures can help you cut down your energy bills up to 35% plus it will make your home more comfortable too.
A thermostat can go a long way to keep energy consumptions, for heating and cooling a home, under control. Once you have programmed it, the thermostat will keep the temperatures at a constant and will remember to turn down the heat as night falls.
Check for leaking faucets and repair them. A leaking faucet can lose more than a gallon of water in a day, even if it is only dripping drops. This could mean substantial difference in your water bills. Not only that a leaking faucet affects the quality of your home’s indoor tap but increases the risk of mold too and green remodeling your house for this can mean a lot.
Another factor that can help you save water is installing showers and water closets that use less water. Traditional closets can use almost five gallons of water every time you flush, whereas the modern ones need only about a gallon every time. You can also install showers that have less flow to save on water when you shower.
Also if you happen to be doing windows check for the direction of the window. South facing windows are good retainers of heat during the winter and north facing windows give you light through out the year. East and west facing windows give you plenty of heat in the mornings and evenings, increasing the temperature of your homes.
The use of low-e double pane windows on the eastern and western windows can help control the temperatures. On an economy budget you can choose to install an awning or overhang too. Green remodeling can go a long way to make your home more comfortable with less energy consumption.
