3 Sustainable Home Energy Solutions

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An energy-efficient home impacts more than your bank account. Monitoring and minimizing your energy consumption also helps sustain the environment. With that goal in mind, here are three sustainable home energy solutions that will make your home as green as possible.

High-Tech Upgrades

A variety of modern technology exists to improve the energy efficiency of your home. Programmable thermostats are an excellent example. These thermostats help you save money by giving you more control over your HVAC system. Instead of constantly adjusting your thermostat throughout the day, you will be able to program different settings ahead of time. For instance, you can set the temperature to drop while you sleep at night and go back to normal around the time you wake up.

A central control station operates on the same principle: that more control means more efficiency. Installing one of these will allow you to control all of your home’s appliances, lights, and electronics from one spot. For optimization that requires little or no effort on your part, look into home automation systems like motion-sensing lights.

Energy-Efficient Appliances

Although you might be more familiar with Energy Star washers, dryers, and kitchen appliances, energy-efficient HVAC equipment is also available. There are a variety of high-efficiency HVAC options, and given how much of your energy consumptions goes towards heating and cooling your home, these can make a bigger difference than an Energy Star kitchen.

To make the biggest difference, install a geothermal heat pump. These systems pull heat from the ground, where temperatures remain more constant, and not from the air. In addition to being incredibly energy-efficient, they are quiet and low maintenance. If you still prefer to stick with a traditional HVAC system, choose one with the highest SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) you can find.

You may also benefit from a solar water heater or a tankless water heater. The first takes advantage of free sunshine to heat your water. The second saves energy by heating water on an as-needed basis.

Home Energy Installations

Image via Flickr by U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Northeast Region

If you have exhausted other options and want to go even further, consider home energy installations. Solar panels, wind turbines, and hydropower systems are no longer reserved for futuristic corporations. Homeowners can now take advantage of this technology to power their homes.

You can harness the power of sunlight through rooftop solar panels or, if your home cannot support one, go in with other members of your community to buy a solar energy system and share the savings. Those with at least one acre of land that experiences strong wind can take advantage of wind turbines, and those with a stream or creek on their property might benefit from a small hydropower system. Just make sure to check on water rights and legal requirements before installing the latter.

For more home energy recommendations, schedule a home performance evaluation through your local HVAC contractor. A technician will test the energy efficiency of your home and let you know which sustainable energy solutions best suit your needs.

About Post Author

Abigail Clark

Abigail Clark is an upcoming freelance writer. She graduated from The University of South Florida with a bachelors in marketing, minoring in journalism. When she isn’t up to her neck in coupons she is enjoying the outdoors fishing. She loves doing reviews for technology, home products and beauty products. If you would like her to do a review for you look her up on twitter @downtownabby17.

downtownabby17@gmail.com