Keep reading for some ways to make your new home more energy-efficient.
With rising energy costs, you’ve likely wondered how feasible an energy-efficient home is for you. Thankfully, there are countless options than just turning the lights off—especially since we all know one family member who always leaves them on.
Creating an energy-efficient home involves more than smart design and construction; it’s about creating a sustainable living environment for you and your family. One of the most difficult issues homeowners face today is how to pay for energy-efficient upgrades. For Accessible Home Builders, we focus on how an upgrade affects quality and how much it costs versus what it saves every year. Keep reading for some ways to make your new home more energy-efficient.
Why Focus on Energy Efficiency?
There are many reasons to build an energy-efficient home, the most significant being ensuring the health and longevity of your home’s systems, minimizing resources used, decreasing utility and maintenance costs, and improving indoor air quality.
When expertly installed and tested, high-performance home systems maintain the optimal balance of moisture, temperature, and ventilation while reducing the presence of chemicals, particles, and microbes in the indoor air. When you design your house, consider every phase of its life cycle to reduce waste. Remember, your home can still be green at the end of its life by providing recyclable material that can be transformed into new construction instead of sitting in a landfill.
Heating, Cooling, and Ventilation
The HVAC system is the biggest energy user in American homes. Space heating and cooling consume enormous amounts of energy if the home is not designed well.
Heat pumps, geothermal systems, sealed ductwork, smart thermostats, and sensors combine technology and construction to keep your home comfortable. A smart thermostat allows you to monitor your electricity use and change temperature settings using your phone.
Use Effective Insulation
Insulation is another big way to make your new home more energy-efficient. Proper insulation prevents drafts, keeping your heating and cooling efforts inside for maximum impact.
Insulation also prevents the air and moisture outside from entering your home. This helps regulate the temperature inside your home and allows your HVAC system to work efficiently to maintain a consistent temperature. You can also opt to seal your crawlspace to protect the internal temperature. This also prevents mold growth in the summer and keeps pipes from freezing in the winter.
Energy Efficient Lighting
Lighting design plays a significant role in your home’s energy efficiency. Appropriately placing windows, skylights, and lighting fixtures can increase natural light without increasing heat. Along with energy-efficient windows, shades, and blinds control the amount of light and heat entering the house during the day. Energy-efficient bulbs and lighting fixtures within the house should be used to provide more lighting per watt than conventional bulbs. Not only do LED lights last longer, but they also give off less heat.
Contact Accessible Home Builders Today
Here at Accessible Home Builders, we’re proud to say we’ve been building and remodeling homes since 1994. We’ve serviced Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, Selbyville, Millsboro, Georgetown, Laurel, and more communities within Delaware in that time. We work to guarantee a high level of professionalism, dedication, and the use of quality materials to ensure our customers have the homes they deserve.
To get in touch with us, give us a call at our office at 302-663-0464, send us an email at info@accessiblehomebuilders.com or visit us in person at 28412 DuPont Blvd, #103 Millsboro, DE 19966. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, and YouTube to stay updated on what we’re up to next!