If you want to write a budget for home improvements in 2022, it’s good to start with those that will be the most energy-efficient. Here are some of them to give you ideas for what to start with for a much more comfortable and efficient home.
Check Your Plumbing
One of the most important home upgrades is ensuring that your plumbing is in good shape. It should work well, have no rusted or worn spots, and, most importantly, not have any leaks throughout. An estimate by the Environmental Protection Agency states that 10% of all the homes in the country have leaks that waste about 90 gallons of water each day, or even more. Ensure that your home is not in this percentage by checking your pipes and fixing any that seem to be performing worse than they should be. This way, you will save the environment as well as some money.
Insulate Your Home
Another upgrade to consider is to insulate your home. When you do this, you will have fewer energy leaks that cost you money over time. Whenever you run your AC, all the treated air should remain in the house and not leak outside for maximum efficiency. Any air leak will result in you having to use more energy to maintain ideal temperatures inside your home. This is an upgrade that, depending on the intensity, can be a DIY project. For instance, if the biggest leaks occur around your doors and windows, fixing this may be a simple matter of placing some caulk around any gaps around the door and window frames.
Change the Garage Door
It’s a fact that modern garage doors can help you improve your home’s efficiency. A new garage door opener can also help you save electricity, as modern openers need up to 75% less power to run than older systems do. With this in mind, this is clearly a project that can benefit you immensely. Just remember that this is a project that must be taken care of by a professional and should not be DIY. Garage doors are hooked to a lot of tension and so it’s easy to get into a serious accident by attempting to fix one yourself. Look for a professional and have them replace your garage door so you can stay safe and improve your home’s energy efficiency.
Get a Smart Thermostat
If you don’t already have a smart thermostat in your home, it’s time to get one. This is because it can help you maintain your home’s temperature effectively. It will keep your home in the temperature range that you set and some of them can even be controlled from your mobile phone while you’re out of the house. This means that you can easily adjust the temperature as you need to even while you’re outside the house. Besides saving you energy, this also makes it easy to avoid potential accidents and incidents that could occur as a result of having the thermometer set at the wrong temperature for a long time.
Change Outdated Home Appliances
Finally, change any outdated appliances in your home and upgrade them to newer models which are generally more efficient. A water heater, whose life expectancy is between eight and 12 years, will need to be replaced if it’s in this age range and is showing signs of developing issues. This goes for every other appliance in your home, so perform an inspection and replace those that need replacing so you can start making savings.
These home upgrades for 2022 are energy efficient and can help you spend less money on energy all while having a smaller impact on the environment!