If you are looking to help the environment and save substantial amounts of money at the same time, it is important to be aware that a wide range of home improvements for energy efficiency. From the living room walls to the bathroom pipework, almost every major part of your house can be modified in order to improve energy efficiency. Keep the following six suggestions in mind.
1) Insulate The Walls
Installing insulation is one of the best ways to dramatically boost the energy efficiency of your household. However, the type of insulation that will be appropriate depends on the structure of your house. Firstly, if you have a solid wall house (i.e. one which lacks wall cavities), choosing internal wall insulation can make a huge difference to the amount of energy you save. While it is not cheap and may require saving up money for some time, you can make the installation process cheaper by choosing to have it carried out whenever you happen to be decorating particular rooms. Secondly, if you have cavities in your walls, the good news is that these may already be filled with a form of insulation. However, you can still add internal insulation in order to make sure that you save even more energy. If your cavity walls are not insulated, you can often have them insulated from the outside, so in most cases there is no need to wait until you are decorating your rooms.
2) Get The Right Taps
If you are planning to renovate your kitchen or bathroom, this is the perfect time to make sure that you have the correct taps fitted in these rooms. Make sure you choose to purchase taps that are advertised as helping to prevent hot water from being wasted, and also investigate kitchen taps that allow you to switch between restricted and full flow as needed.
3) Insulate The Pipework
If you decide to insulate all of your household’s water pipes, you will boost the energy efficiency of your home by preventing a lot of valuable heat from escaping. Pipe insulation is generally a lot more affordable than most other forms of insulation, though the pipes are seldom exposed (which means that it is often a good idea to wait until you are renovating your bathroom before you try to get the pipes insulated).
4) Examine The Windows
Windows that are single glazed will allow much more heat to escape at a faster rate, so it is in your best interests to replace any of your single glazed windows whenever you can afford to do so. If replacing the windows is not an option for you, it is possible to compensate to some extent by utilising draught-proofing that helps to stop heat escaping through small cracks and gaps.
5) Insulate The Floor:
If you are only able to insulate the floor in one room, choose the largest room in the house (as this will typically be the one in which most heat is lost through the flooring). Having floor insulation installed will make your living room warmer, lower your utility bills, and ensure that your home is much more environmentally friendly. If you do not know much about floor insulation, hire an expert in order to find out what type of floor you have, and to ask what specific type of insulation will be appropriate.
6) Modify Your Shower
Finally, if your shower is compatible with an aerating showerhead, make sure that you have one installed in order to save water and reduce your utility bills.
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