Sometimes, you have to spend money to save money. When it comes to home improvement, with the holidays just behind and tax season just ahead, the challenge is to get the most bang for your buck. Here are a few options to help make your home more efficient and your dollar stretch the farthest.
Project Manager
Decatur County REMC
Upgrade your home’s insulation
First and foremost, consider upgrading your home’s insulation. Properly insulated homes are more comfortable through winter and summer, reduce wasted energy, and pay off over time, making it both a short-term solution and a long-term investment.
Install energy-efficient windows
If you’re in good shape on the insulation front, evaluate another cost-efficient improvement — energy-efficient windows. Those are also a form of insulation and will significantly impact your heating and cooling costs.
Choose LED lighting
Replace incandescent and halogen light bulbs with LED options, which are long-lasting, energy-efficient, and cost-effective while paying back your investment in less than a year.
Consider new plumbing fixtures
Efficient plumbing fixtures save water overall and cut down on hot water use. Examples include showerheads, bathroom faucet aerators, or upgraded toilet replacements. Among those, a low-flow showerhead is likely to offer the quickest return on investment and a significant gain in efficiency.
Replace your water heater
If you want to get into a more significant project, look at your water heater. If you replace a standard electric water heater with a heat pump water heater, you will use around a third of the energy while keeping down the humidity.
Gas water heaters are already more efficient than electric ones. Still, switching to a tankless model could provide notable savings and reduce the risk of carbon monoxide emissions.
No matter how much you have available to spend, any one of these projects can make those dollars last a little more in the long run. In the process, not only will your wallet reap the benefits, but so will your home, which will become a more comfortable place to live.
