Last Updated on September 15, 2023 by Ellen Christian
With the arrival of fall and winter comes the return of home heating bills. Rising fuel costs means finding easy ways to make your home energy efficient is even more important now than ever.
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11 Easy Ways To Make Your Home Energy Efficient
We live in an old house that was built in 1865. As much as I love the character and charm of an old house, it does mean that our home is not as energy efficient as it could be. That’s something that we’re working on a little bit more each year.
In addition to helping keep your household expenses in check, many Federal, State or even Local agencies offer tax breaks and incentives to those that make their home more energy-efficient. Make sure that you check out your local government offices for more information.
Energy-efficient house
Making your home more energy efficient also lightens our use of the Earth’s non-renewable resources and helps curb pollution. Here are 11 easy ways to make your home energy efficient that will get you started. You don’t need to tackle all of these upgrades at once.
Having an energy-efficient house will take time if you aren’t building from the ground up. Just start with the projects that you can tackle yourself. And, then tackle the others as you have the time and money to do the upgrades.
How to get started
- Install a heating fan for hot days. Heating fans are much more energy-efficient than air conditioners.
- Regularly replace air filters in furnaces and air conditioners.
- Turn your thermostat down at night and when you leave the house.
Energy-saving tips for your home
There are many simple projects you can do around your home to make it more energy-efficient. You don’t need to be a handyman or an electrician to tackle basic home upgrades like these. And, they shouldn’t cost a lot of money since they are relatively simple. You can also search YouTube for videos that will walk you through basic energy-efficient upgrades like installing a thermostat or wrapping your hot water heater.
- Install a programmable thermostat that will remember to turn down the temperature in case you forget.
- Consider adding plastic to older windows or doors that aren’t being used. This will cut down on cold drafts entering your home. Caulking around windows and doors can help as well.
- Replace incandescent light bulbs with the new energy-saving CFLs or LEDs. While this isn’t a huge saving, every little bit adds up in the end.
- Install an on-demand (or tankless) hot water heater. These types of hot water heaters only heat the water when you need it.
- Insulate areas of your home that may be letting out hot air like mail slots, electrical outlets, doors, and windows. Even the smallest crack can let in cold air.
Energy-efficient upgrades for your home
If you have an old home, chances are that you have older appliances. If that’s the case, making a few energy-efficient upgrades will certainly help your home be more energy efficient. Besides, buying newer appliances, there are a few other steps that you can take.
- Install an energy-efficient showerhead and faucet aerators.
- Wash full loads of laundry in cold water and clean the lint trap of your dryer regularly.
- Replace old windows and doors with energy-efficient, insulated doors.
- Check for rebates when shopping for new energy-efficient appliances. If you’re recycling an old refrigerator, check into the recycling rebate program.
As you’re working toward making your home more energy-efficient remember that making these small changes will help save time and money and give you peace of mind. So, work on a few small, simple changes at a time and begin with the ones that you can easily take care of yourself.
Energy efficiency projects
- Check out these tips to learn more about saving energy washing clothes.
- Here are a few more ideas to lower your electric bill.
- Learn how to save energy with your dishwasher
- Check out these six simple projects you can do to be more energy efficient.
- Here are some tips to make your home more energy-efficient.
- Get caught up on your home maintenance projects.
Ellen is a busy mom of a 24-year-old son and 29-year-old daughter. She owns six blogs and is addicted to social media. She believes that it doesn’t have to be difficult to lead a healthy life. She shares simple healthy living tips to show busy women how to lead fulfilling lives. If you’d like to work together, email info@confessionsofanover-workedmom.com to chat.
Thanks for sharing on How To Get Organized At Home, saving energy is important which is why a couple of years ago we had solar panels installed. Thanks again for sharing:)
Glad to share, Sharon. Thanks for stopping by.
Electrical outlets are horrible never thought of insulating them. Thanks for sharing!
Glad to share, Robin!
Great tips! Thank you for great ideas to save money!!
Glad to share, Alison!
OMG, thank-you for this! I totally need to do this, I always want to save energy! Bookmarking!
Glad to share, Nancy. Hope they help!
Great tips, usually our electric bill sparks up a bit during this season and right now, we’re still not using any heater yet and waiting for the time when blankets can’t make us warm anymore.
One thing I learned from this post is to check our house’s insulation, since we live in a mobile home. insulation can be unreliable as compared to regular single family homes.
That definitely must bring added challenges!
I am always looking for a way to cut on costs… Our energy bill is astronomical (you do not want to know how high it is…) There are some great tips, we really need to cut down on that bill.
I’m sure, Susan. I hope some of these help!
I truly have some work to do but great tips. I will be replacing a few things.
Glad to help, Raijean!
We put in a programmable thermostat last year and it has made a world of difference on our air and heating bills! We also chose a plan with our electrical company to use electricity during off-peak times, to save energy. I love your other tips and will encourage my family to adopt some of these!
That is a great idea, Julie. I wish we had that here.
Thank you for sharing your tips! Our home was built in 1957 so it is not energy efficient at all! We are always looking for ways to improve our energy efficiency to save money on our light bill!
Glad to share, Jenn. We’re always working on it too!