5 Upgrades That Make Your Property Radically More Efficient
In the past, people didn’t worry so much about the efficiency of their homes. Climate change wasn’t really on the radar, and energy was relatively cheap.
Things, though, are changing. Many homeowners are now wondering how they can take advantage of remodeling and renovation to reduce their bills and make their properties better for the environment.
What’s more, many of these improvements also increase the property’s value, even in a down market.
So what exactly are we talking about? Let’s take a look.
Adding Extra Insulation To The Attic
Insulation is just material that helps to keep heat inside your home after you turn on the heating. It won’t protect you from the cold forever, but it will require you to switch on your heating less often than you would otherwise.
When it comes to insulation, you typically find it in three arrears around the house: cavity walls, windows (in the form of double glazing), and the loft space.
Of these three, insulation in the loft space is the most straightforward to replace and often the most cost-effective.
Traditionally, loft insulation was a couple of inches thick. People put down thin layers between the rafters, believing that was sufficient to keep their homes warm. In general, this thickness did a good job, but now many researchers think that going thicker is better. The cost-benefit makes sense.
Today, therefore, the standard thickness is around 300mm or 12 inches – considerably more than in the past. Efficiency typically rises by approximately 30 percent when you switch to thicker insulation, allowing you to lower the thermostat and keep your boiler off for longer than otherwise.
Installing Double-Glazed Windows
We already briefly mentioned the impact of double-glazed windows, but it is well worth discussing their implications in more detail. Double-glazed windows work by creating a vacuum between two panels of glass, preventing heat energy from jumping from the inside of your home to the outside. Instead, energy reflects into the room, keeping it feeling toasty.
According to Renewal by Andersen, the range of double-glazing products on the market is expanding. It’s not just windows anymore, but doors and even skylights. What’s more, you don’t have to buy your windows separately and then get them installed. Today, companies provide end-to-end services, making your life a lot easier.
The savings from double-glazed windows can be substantial. The average home loses around 25 percent of its heat through its windows. So cutting that in half could reduce energy use by approximately 12.5 percent.
Reinstalling Doors
The main job of exterior doors is to provide a barrier between the inside and outside of your property. But they also serve a second function: to keep the cold out.
Often, though, builders don’t do a good job when installing doors, and gaps start to appear around them. You wouldn’t think that this would make much of a difference, but it can dramatically increase your bills. Hot air escapes continually through the cracks around the door, counteracting the effect of your radiators.
One solution is to lay down draft blockers, but these are annoying, impractical and don’t usually work very well anyway.
The other option is to simply reinstall the door with the help of a professional. What you want is something that fits perfectly inside the door cavity. Most modern doors have skirts and other insulating features that get around this problem, even if the cavity itself isn’t symmetric.
Fix The Roof
Over time, roofs start to fail. And when they do, they open up a whole bunch of issues for your property. While mold is a problem, so too is the fact that the roof can’t now keep the hot air inside your home as well as it once did.
Holes in the roof creates a draft issue. As hot air rises in your home, it escapes at a high rate through the roof. The change in pressure then encourages cold air to rush in at the ground floor, creating a kind of interior breeze.
As you might imagine, this is bad news for your energy efficiency and bills. Homeowners lose a lot of money this way.
Again, the best solution is to patch up the roof using professional roofing services. These guys can usually tell you whether it is an isolated problem or if you have to replace the whole thing.
Low-Flow Faucets
Finally, if you’re interested in lowering your water bills, you might want to try low-flow faucets. The idea here is to mix the water with air, providing the same flow volume while reducing the amount of water issued per second.
