Renovating your home is an expensive and dirty process. You rip open walls, old materials replaced with new ones, you can even expect to replace and upgrade more aspects of your home. After the work begins, problems arise, and old wiring and pipes are discovered. Home remodeling costs you thousands. It only makes sense that you do all you can to recoup some of those costs through energy upgrades.
Here we will discuss some of the many ways you can help reduce your energy bills after a remodel, saving you long-term cash!
How Much Money Can You Save By Insulating Your Attic?
If you are planning on renovating your roof or attic or even just upgrading walls in your home, one thing you need to remember is that heat rises. When the heat rises, this means your winter heating leaves your home right out of your attic.
Estimates say that insulating an average attic costs around $1400. When planning a remodel, this is often a little additional cost with great benefits. Especially when the remodeling magazine has found that buyers are willing to shell out an extra $1,446 for a home with an insulated attic as of 2017, leaving you an immediate profit when you resell your home. Also, the EIA estimated winter heating costs in 2020 to be $1221 on heating oil and $572 for natural gas. A properly sealed attic can save you up to 30% saving you $155 to $366 on average EVERY WINTER!
Window Insulation Energy Savings
Double pane windows provide savings
Any room renovation design often means walls being opened up. While you have everything open, it is a great time to consider energy-saving windows. According to the EPA and Department of Energy, “Installing ENERGY STAR certified windows, doors, and skylights can shrink energy bills — and carbon footprints — by an average of 12 percent nationwide, compared to non-certified products.” This means a savings of “$101–$583 and 1,006–6,205 pounds of CO2, which is equivalent to 51 to 317 gallons of gasoline,”‘according to Energy Star. When you are looking to renovating your living room or remodeling a kitchen, you should consider replacing the windows with energy-saving panels. This can save you thousands of dollars in energy bills over the years
Air Conditioning and Heating Energy Savings
Again, when renovating your home, you will likely be opening up some walls. Some people plan to renovate the attic or basement, often where a large portion of your HVAC ducting system is. There is no better time to upgrade your HVAC system for energy and cost savings while you are there. The US Department of Energy estimates you can save up to 35% on your energy costs with an HVAC renovation. There are also more innovations in the works to soon save as much as 50%! When renovating your home, adding a more efficient HVAC system can easily save you hundreds of dollars per year.
Basement Energy Efficiency
Summers can get unbearably hot, and winters just as bad with cold. Suppose you are not in a position to undergo a major renovation that would replace the windows, insulation, or HVAC unit quite yet, but you are ready for a change. In that case, you may want to consider renovating your basement into a family room or dining area.
With a basement being underground, the temperatures tend to stay much milder than the rest of the house. You can insulate and remodel your basement to become your home’s main area during the worst months of the year. Your basement can become a place where you can spend your time without having to constantly run your heating and air conditioning. An inefficient HVAC system can cost as much as a dollar a day. This means that avoiding running your unit during the hottest and coldest months of the year can save you well over $100 per year! Not only that, but you would be adding valuable, usable square footage to your home come to resell time!
Government Financing and Rebates
Steps to an energy-efficient home
Finally, perhaps the best reason to add energy savings plans to your home remodel is the plethora of government incentives! Most local gas and electric companies have rebates and tax credits for energy-efficient home improvements. Also, at the federal level, there are several home improvement tax credits, rebates, and other savings. The Database of State Incentives for Renewable & Efficiency website can help guide you with a handy map giving you money savings information by state! In addition, ENERGY STAR lists several options for federal tax credits and other savings for your remodel project.
What Are You Waiting For?
Contact us today and we can connect you with home remodel and design experts in your local area. We can get you started on not only improving your home to the place of your dreams but doing it in a way that will save the planet, save your pocketbook, and increase your home’s resale value by thousands of dollars!
