Two of the biggest things that we heard over and over again during the 2008 Presidential debates was the struggling economy and the environment. Both of these issues are important ones that affect each and every American that lives here. This article will touch on ways to make your home more energy efficient by things like replacing your old attic with new Texas insulation to changing the outer layer of your adobe style home with a new product after you finish Texas sandblasting the old surface.
The first thing you can do before you decide to make some energy saving changes to your home is to make a list and divide it up by the interior of the home and the exterior of the home. Have a meeting with all of your family members to give all of their ideas, both big and small to be added to the list. Once all of the ideas are listed, scale it down to the things you can do right away.
Some of the smaller things to save energy can be purchased at your home improvement store. Count how many light bulbs and lamps you own and buy all new energy efficient fluorescent ones to replace them. Another thing that saves energy is a new thermostat that can be set to turn off the heat and or air conditioning when you are away at work and not in the home. This will save greatly on your bills and the energy output used.
Some of the other things to make your home more energy efficient are behaviors rather than things you buy to make changes. Turning off all of the lights and electronics that you are not using at the time certainly helps. Also, unplug larger electronics and appliances when not in use. Just because something is turned off does not mean it doesn’t require any electricity because it does. To save water, make a time limit with a timer when taking a shower. If you go longer than the time limit, you must put 50 cents into a jar is a great motivator for the teens in your house.
A few larger projects will also make a significant difference in your energy use of your home. If you plan on staying in your home for more than five years the upfront expense will pay off in the long run. If you have old or no insulation in your home, this would be a good idea to replace it with the newer better quality stuff they have out now. You may also want to purchase a new furnace that will run on less energy. Another idea is to consider using solar panels to heat your water supply. This savings is a huge one and will recover the costs of installing it in the first place. And finally if you have a stucco home, you may want to sandblast the exterior and have a more energy saving stucco put on the outside that will keep your home more insulated.
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