Tag Archives: Tankless Water Heaters

Simple Home Renovations That Can Improve Energy Efficiency

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There is almost nothing more satisfying than a clean, fresh, and sustainable home. You may think that renovating your home is a hassle, not to mention expensive, but there are plenty of small changes that can make a home really feel like it’s yours. Something as simple as a new garage door, or a small solar panel can bring personality and life to your home while saving energy and giving you a boost of pride for your house.

1. Doors and Windows

When thinking about renovating your house, you probably think, new basement, new roofing, and much more expensive and time consuming projects. But do not write off home improvement just yet! There are plenty of small changes that can make a huge difference to the style of your home and even boost its overall value.

Doors and windows play a huge part in energy efficiency as air enters and escapes your home. This makes these options a great place to start as they add a personal flair to your home’s look as well as being environmentally friendly. Below is a short list of these green home renovations that can improve energy efficiency:

insulated-home

Garage Doors

When thinking about the outdoor curb appeal of your home, an often overlooked detail is the garage. This may seem silly but just think about how much visual space your garage door or doors take up.

A new or refurbished garage door can not only up the style and personality of your home, but can make your home more energy efficient and secure. And with companies like CSSGarageDoors there are so many styles to choose from.

Front Door

A unique front door also helps your house stand out and adds your own personal touch to your home. Keep in mind the style of your garage doors and make sure your other doors do not clash. Replacing old front doors can also save you money and energy, as air often escapes from unseen cracks in old doors and windows.

There are hundreds of style choices to choose from, and many energy efficient sustainable options too. Not only will this give your home an instant personality boost, it will raise the value of your home significantly.

Windows

While this one may be a little more on the pricey side of renovations, it is yet another example of boosting your homes personality, value, and energy efficiency. Not only can you choose from styles of windows, you can choose how you want the glass and frames to make them custom just for you and your home.

New windows will save you money on heating and air and some even keep out the noises of busy streets or noisy neighbors. Depending on the climate and place you live, these replacements could be a life saver. Lowes has an excellent selection of beautiful window and door replacements.

2. Energy Efficiency and Sustainability

While improving the overall look of your home can give you a sense of personal pride in your home, less visible but sustainable options can give you comfort and help the planet. If you want to live more sustainably but do not have the funds to build a whole new eco-friendly home, there are small changes that can boost your home’s energy efficiency and sustainability. Below is a short list of options to improve your home from the inside out.

Tankless Water Heaters

Water heaters are probably something you do not often think about when going on home energy efficiency upgrades. However, that tank that sits in your garage or basement is constantly using energy. Even when you are not using your hot water, the tank is busy working away using energy and costing you money. Switching to a tankless or on-demand water heater means that it will only be using energy when you need it.

Solar Panels

Solar panels are becoming better and better, and adding one to your homes exterior no longer seems like a dream. While there is a lot to consider before installing solar panels, they can be an amazing way to reduce energy and a great investment.

solar-powered-home

Although solar panels can last for up to 30 years, you do not need to be afraid of wasting money when you move as they can increase the value of your home significantly. You can also get a sizeable tax return for installing solar panels, so it is a great option to look at for sustainable living.

5 Home Improvement Projects That Add Instant Value to Your Property

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It’s no secret that home improvements add to your property’s value. You can get your house looking and performing better, and when you do, you can usually sell it for a higher price when you want to move on from it.

We’ll talk about a few home improvement projects you should consider right now before you start raising funds for your home improvement. If you haven’t done these yet, you may feel that they’re worth the price.

1. Eco-Friendly Upgrades

About 70% of homebuyers seek eco-friendly upgrades, so you should keep that in mind if you have money to spend on your house this year. You can probably think of dozens of eco-friendly home improvements if you put your mind to it.

mistakes when switching to solar energy

You’ll need to look at cost-effective ones. You’ll also need to consider whether you can do any of them yourself or whether you’ll need to hire a company to do them for you.

For instance, you might switch to solar energy. Many companies will now install solar panels on your roof. They don’t usually cost all that much, and they can reduce your electric bills.

You might add color with some eco-friendly paint, or you can start a compost pile in your backyard. You can hire a company that will do an energy audit for the property. They will identify anywhere you’re losing heat in the winter and cool air in the summer. Then, they can stop up all those cracks and crevices.

2. A New Roof

A roof can last you for twenty years or longer in some instances. At some point, though, you’ll likely need to do a total tear-off and put on a new one.

Unless you work professionally as a roofer, you probably can’t do this upgrade on your own. You will need to hire a company to do it. Make sure to talk to a few different roofers so you can get some estimates. You never know if one might give you a much better price than another.

You can pick a nice color for the shingles and get the company you choose to install the roof at a time of year when the weather’s not much of a factor. Once you have that new roof on there, you can point to it as a significant selling point when you’re ready to move.

3. You Can Get a Tankless Water Heater

You might get rid of your old, bulky water heater and install a new tankless one. You’ll probably want to find a plumber to do this, although you might try it as a DIY project if you feel ambitious.

Tankless water heaters are eco-friendly, and they don’t take up nearly as much space as an old-fashioned kind. You can stick them down in the basement, and you’ll barely notice they’re there.

They usually give you faster hot water when you run a bath or turn on the shower. Also, you can often get a government rebate when you install one, so the total expense should not come to more than a few hundred dollars.

4. You Can Install a New Deck

You might have a backyard with a deck overlooking it. An old deck isn’t very nice to look at, though, and it’s probably unsafe on top of that.

green-deck

If you’ve got kids that like to run all over your deck and play in your backyard, you want a sturdy structure that won’t collapse or stick out a rusty nail that ends up in a child’s foot. Installing a new deck isn’t cheap, but that’s another potential selling point when you get ready to move on.

You can enjoy your new deck once you install it. A new deck represents a commitment to the property, but you can also spend time out there during nice weather. The neighbors will want to come by, and you can have BBQs if you set up a grill. If you want to be the next master chef in your neighborhood, don’t forget to checkout our kamado joe buying guide.

5. You Can Install a New Fence

Maybe you have a front and backyard, but you don’t have a fence yet for either one. If so, you may think about installing one. If you put in a fence, you can allow the kids to play behind the house or in front of it, or you can let your dog out and know it won’t run out into the street.

You can look into different fence styles as well. A chain-link fence won’t cost you very much, but you might want to select a more elaborate option to improve your home’s aesthetic appeal.