How to make your home energy efficient

With all the new info on going green, saving money on energy and cutting costs some times it is hard to follow all the advice and save money at the same time. Here is an article to try to help you accomplish both.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• time
• some resources
• some material
• using your own judgement and budget to accomplish the tasks you feel are most important to you

1. When remodeling or upgrading your home add lots of windows. You should consider the front and rear entry doors as well. Adding more panes(lites) can also add to the amount of natural light that comes into the home
2. When redoing a wood floor if one already exists try refinishing the wood. This not only helps reduce costs but reduces the amount of waste going into the land fill
3. Lighting fixtures in your home can use incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, When using incandescent bulbs use dimmers, raise the wattage of the bulbs but reduce the amount you have in the fixture. (larger wattage bulbs give off more lights and use less energy) Never over rate the fixture wattage rating, Use the proper bulb size (ie max rating =75) watts
4. Try to purchase energy star rated appliances. Energy star appliances often have rebates and sometimes the government gives you money back as well depending on the size of the appliance
5. When remodeling try to find people who have overstock items from a previous building project. This reduces the amount of waste going into the landfill that someone might throw out if sitting around too long