It seems as soon as the summer begins to fade, and the consumer breathes a sigh of relief, the winter comes along and causes new strains on the family energy budget. There appears to be no respite in site as energy demands and costs continue to increase. It would be worth the time to ask that if energy prices continue to escalate, what would be most effective in controlling home comfort costs? Fortunately, there are dozens of avenues a homeowner may pursue in their search for relief from the energy squeeze.
Sometimes it is necessary to invest money in order to save money. However, this makes sense because the investment is usually a one time expenditure, and the savings roll in every month. A homeowner can, for instance, add reflective roofs, attic fans, or weather stripping. Weather stripping is a process of sealing windows and doors from the elements. This simple step, if done right, will go a long way toward reducing energy bills. Consumers also need to know there are some home projects that create an energy savings, but also yield tax cuts or reduced rate loans for the project materials.
A small investment with a potentially large payoff is a programmable thermostat. Anyone whose thermostat is either warming or cooling the house while they are not home, is throwing sizable chunks of money out their newly weatherstripped window.
A house can be a home, or it can be like an inferno in the summer. The air conditioning would love some help, and a white cement, or just a white roof will ease its burden. In fact, by painting a white roof with an insulating paint, the white roof can reflect away as much as 80 % of incident heat. Speaking of roofs, solar panels always bear a second look. Not only will the use of solar panels slash electrical bills for a family, studies have shown that they add about $20,000 onto the value of a $500,000 house.
Whether you live in the Sahara or Alaska, there are rosy possibilities in the bleakest of energy bills. Feel free to call us for additional energy savings solutions. We’d love to hear from you.
