Save Money on Building Your Home: Make it Energy Efficient
Building your home for energy efficiency may increase your costs from two to four percent above the usual, but it will save you fifteen to twenty percent on electricity and utility costs in the long term. If you’re building a home, there are a lot of things you can do now to save money for and in the future.
Energy Efficiency Means Tax Benefits
If you’re willing to do what it takes to build an energy-efficient home then you’ll definitely have the government at your side. Energy efficiency not only means saving money on electricity costs but saving the planet as well from environmental disaster. Such a responsible attitude is what the government desires from its citizens, and that’s why they’re willing to give you tax benefits in return.
How to Reduce Costs for Heating and Cooling
A survey estimated that fifty to seventy percent of what you pay for energy costs can be attributed to heating and cooling. You can, however, significantly reduce that figure by insulating key areas of the house and carefully selecting the materials, lightings, and other appliances you’ll be using for your future home.
Types of Insulation: blanket insulation makes use of either fiber glass or rock wool and can be installed through DIY or by a professional; loose-fill insulation is best used for areas that are circular or irregular in shape; rigid insulation makes use of various sorts of foam and are extremely effective; lastly, reflective systems make use of foil-faced materials and can be installed through DIY as well just as long as careful planning is made for the direction of space and heat flow throughout the house.
Key Areas for Insulation – Instruct your building contractor to make the necessary arrangements for insulation for the following parts: your home’s attic; exterior walls including those used between living spaces or bedrooms, garages where there is no heating unit available, and storage and shed areas; floors that are maintained above unheated areas; band joists and lastly, all windows and doors.
[Image from Earth Advantage]
