These Energy Upgrades Will Increase Your Home Value

Guest post: Dan McKee, Digital Marketing Manager at Service Champions

Buying a house was your dream and you achieved it. You lived in that house for a few years and now you want to sell it. But due to economic turbulence or realty slump, the valuation of your house has taken a dive. What do you do now?

One of the things that you can do is upgrade your house to make it more energy efficient. The two primary reasons for doing this are:

1. Eco-Conscious Buyers: Today, people have become more aware of climatic changes and terms like “global warming” or “eco-destruction” are no longer alien to them. The demand for energy-efficient appliances has risen to a greater extent and people do not mind spending a hefty amount of money for the same.
2. Energy getting costlier: As energy consumption is increasing day by day, it is making bigger holes in our pockets too. Energy has gone pricier, especially in the last couple of decades, and hefty electricity bills are nobody’s favorite.

Let us see what all can you do to make your house energy efficient.

Basic Updates

By simpler changes, you can add great value to your home. Get fresh paint done, remove/replace any rotting wood, fix that leaking roof and remove any mold from the building. These factors will increase your home’s life apart from adding new freshness. Buyers love to see a house in great shape and less maintenance.

Remodeling the Kitchen with Energy-Efficient Appliances

The kitchen is considered to be the heart of any house. Replace the old appliances with energy-efficient, start-rated ones. They consume less energy, saving quite a good amount of money. In addition to being good for the environment, they come in fairly attractive models too. Get rid of that old water heater and invest in an energy-efficient one.

Install Energy-Star Windows

Upgrading the windows not only proves to be energy-efficient but it also increases the aesthetic element of your house. Today, buyers look for houses with energy star-rated windows as they can save up to $500 in energy costs. The simple, single-pane windows are a thing of past now. Consult window experts to know what will suit best for your house.

Energy-Efficient Insulation

How many times did you feel that your HVAC system is using too much of electricity? The dearth of basic insulation might be the reason. For good insulation, old doors/windows and cracks in walls need regular checks. Finding leaks in the house is easier in winters when thermostats and heaters are on. Simple hand-held equipment like thermal leak detector can alert you about temperature difference between the rooms. Investing in full & timely insulation check-ups around the house might be a very good idea.

Replace Your Thermostat

If you are still into manually operating the thermostat then you need an upgrade. Think about investing in a programmable thermostat for your home. They are reliable and save energy quite efficiently. Studies show that programmable thermostats can reduce up to $180 from your energy costs.

Get Energy-efficient Home Automation

There are a lot of providers who offer home automation solutions. Choose the one that promises energy-efficiency and see the difference. A variety of services come under such packages like thermostat management, where automated program turns off the thermostat during peak usage hours and energy-efficient light bulbs that consume 75% less energy as compared to standard bulbs.

______________________________________________________________________________

Dan McKee is Digital Marketing Manager at Service Champions. He blogs about home improvement and maintenance in his spare time.