Can You Afford to Make Your Home Eco-Friendly?

Making your home eco-friendly might be more affordable than you realize, and this process could have a major impact on your utility bills for years to come. As an added bonus, many eco-friendly upgrades are also going to increase the value of your home and make your property more attractive to certain buyers. Here are just a few of the ways so many homeowners are now going green.

High-Efficiency Appliances

In the average home, appliances account for a significant portion of your overall energy bill. If your energy bills have begun to skyrocket, then you should consider switching over to high-efficiency appliances. At the very least, you might want upgrade to an HE dryer and refrigerator. Investing in new appliances could end up saving you hundreds a year, and those devices often last for decades with the proper maintenance. Even just getting newer appliances can give you energy savings, as the regulations surrounding the efficiency of most appliances have risen over the past decade.

Solar

Adding solar panels to your home is another great way to reduce your carbon footprint, but many people are wary of the installation and maintenance costs. Luckily, some of the largest solar providers have excellent financing options, and you might not have to pay anything upfront. Once the panels have been installed, you could be eligible for tax rebates as well. Solar panels probably won’t cover all of your energy needs, but one of those systems will reduce your electric bills by quite a bit.

Recycling

Recycling services are extremely inexpensive, and many people are surprised to hear that a large percentage of household items can be recycled or reused. To see if your city has a recycling program, you will need to contact your waste management company. Most of those organizations will provide their customers with free recycling bins, and those bins can be filled with a wide variety of materials including cardboard, aluminum, glass, and paper. This also works to reduce the amount of material that needs to fit into your dumpster every week, taking out the bulkier containers like cardboard boxes and cartons.

Low-Flow Fixtures

With low-flow fixtures throughout your home, your water usage is going to plummet. New toilets should usually be installed by a licensed plumber, but you might be able to install low-flow showerheads and faucets on your own. Connecting those devices is only going to take an hour or two, and won’t need anything more than a few basic tools and some inexpensive supplies. Doing this allows you to greatly reduce the amount of water you use without having to worry about taking shorter showers or putting a weighted water bottle in the toilet tank. They are more effective than simply using less water, as well, because they are designed to increase the pressure without increasing the water amount so that you get the same flush or shower power with less actual water.

If you would like to find even more ways to improve the efficiency of your home, then you should consider a professional home energy audit. During those audits, a trained inspector will look for any issues around your home that could be wasting electricity, water, or other resources. They can also help you evaluate the compatibility of your systems with solar energy solutions. With a little research, just about anyone can afford to make their home more eco-friendly.