If you’re a homeowner or a renter, you want the building you live in to be energy efficient. You want HVAC efficiency to save money, reduce wear and tear on the system, and reduce the amount of time it takes to make your living space comfortable.
If you are a rental property owner, you want your rentals to heat and cool efficiently to reduce your tenant’s financial burden and to help you to hold on to quality tenants.
Fortunately, there are several well established ways to do this, modern materials, and tools to make it easier than ever.
7 Great Ways to Make Your Home or Rental Property More Energy Efficient
For rental properties, the best place to start might be by offering your tenant some informative material. Offer them helpful tips on saving energy like;
- Stopping phantom energy usage by unplugging deactivated devices
- Install thick curtains on windows and doors
- Use shorter load times for laundry
- Use natural light during the day
- Heat and cool only rooms that are in use
- Consider reusable energy
Of course, there are plenty more tips you could offer as well. Most people are aware of these kinds of energy saving actions, but they just need a gentle reminder. Now, let’s look at some more substantial energy saving ideas.
1. Improved Insulation
Whether you are using older or cheaper insulation, upgrading it is always going to boost efficiency. Insulation has a tenancy to shift and sag over time, opening up gaps that can let treated air escape in significant quantities.
Older insulation will be less efficient automatically and it can also lose much of its resilience and density over time. The best place to start is under the roof, mostly because it’s easier to get to the insulation. But the biggest gains are available in replacing wall insulation, especially in older houses. Once you get in there, you’ll see why. Depending on the age of your insulation, there may be as much as five inches of space between the top of the insulation and the upper frame of the inner wall.
2. Install Draft-Proof Windows
Modern windows are far more temperature resistant than traditional wood frame windows. Acrylic frames, thicker glass, and double-pane glass can all make an enormous difference in heating and cooling bills.
But the best thing about the advanced materials modern windows offer is the fact that they will not swell in the wet season or shrink in the dry season. Wooden windows do this and over time it forms gaps that bleed treated air. Better still is the fact that they are almost impossible to break by hand, offering a wonderful improvement in home security. This is because modern shatterproof glass is made from a type of plastic-like resin that looks exactly like glass but is almost impossible to smash.
3. HVAC Upgrade
If there is one thing that will offer more of an efficiency boost than any other, it is installing a complete upgrade for your HVAC system. Like older appliances, older HVACs are slower to heat up and cool down. They take more energy to operate, and wear and tear over time will tend to make them lose efficiency.
When the new system is installed, not only will you be getting a superior machine, but all of the attachments and seals will be newly applied and they will be made of newer and more advanced materials. Sure, a new system can be expensive, but you will start seeing the savings almost right away.
4. Renewable Energy
These days, more environmentally sustainable forms of energy generation are becoming more practical and more affordable. Installing a solar panel system is a great place to start. Granted, it can take a few years for the system to pay for itself and start delivering real savings. However, the mere presence of those massive panels on the roof will help insulate against both heat and cold. That’s a benefit most people fail to consider.
Solar panels are not your only option. There are domestic wind turbines as well. In the right climate, these may be a better option than solar panels. They are unlikely to produce as much power as solar collectors, but they are also much less expensive.
5. Replace Older Appliances
Everybody knows that older appliances are less efficient to own and run. In some cases, they are easier to repair, except when the parts you need aren’t sold anymore. But new machines are almost certainly going to use less electricity.
This is especially true of Energy Star models, and these are becoming more and more common. They are also becoming more affordable. In some states, you might even be able to get tax credits by installing energy efficient appliances. If you’re renting out multiple units that could add up to quite a bit of money.
6. Landscaping Solutions
Some people laugh when we mention landscaping options for heating and cooling efficiency, but the difference it can make is enormous. A row of hedges or a tree that blocks the heat of the sun in the summer or cuts the icy wind will take a noticeable amount of burden off your HVAC costs.
If you are able to isolate the parts of your home where sunlight heats it the most and where cold winds come from most often, then you can mitigate those losses by planting a tree or erecting a fence.
7. Hunt Down Cracks & Crevices
Finally, get yourself some Spackle, and start hunting cracks and crevices. You are sure to find them around doors, windows, and power outlets. In older houses, you might even find them at the tops and bottoms or outer walls. Don’t forget about the door to the attic or basement, and be ready to look in out of the way places that might otherwise escape your attention.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
