Top 8 Ways to Save Energy At Home

Upgrading your home to a more energy efficient living space is not only beneficial to yourself by saving money, but it also helps the environment as well. Looking at your high cost heating and electricity bills may motivate you to start a change within your house.

Remodeling requires some spending of your own money, but it is definitely well worth it for you and the planet. Here are ten ways you can save energy at home.

1. Insulation – The easiest and cheapest way to save energy is to insulate your house better. The roof is where most heat escapes, so this should be your main focus. The outside of your home can be insulated correctly by using caulk to seal cracks between sheathing, doors, and windows. Do the same inside by filling in gaps around windows, doors, ducts, floors, etc.

2. Ventilation – Make sure your rooms are well ventilated to regulate temperature. Check to make sure your windows and ceiling fans work properly to help draw heat out.

3. Tankless Water Heaters – Replace your bulky water heater with a smaller tankless one that requires less room and will use less electricity.

4. Upgrade Appliances – Energy Star appliances are approved to be energy efficient and can save you money every month on your electricity bill.

5. Placement Of Windows – If you are able to remodel and change your location of windows, choose the sun-facing side of the house so that you can take advantage of the free energy. Skylights are also a great way to let in natural light and save money on your heating/electricity bill.

6. Roofing – Choosing light colored shingles will provide you with the optimal energy savings. Dark colors absorb heat, so the light shingles will help keep your house cool during the summer time.

7. Fireplaces - Using a fireplace to generate heat within your house is a great way to stay warm without using any electricity.

Air Circulation and Your Home

Get the air moving! 

The idea of letting hot summer air into your home to help keep it cool sounds crazy, but some parts of your house need to be well ventilated both in summer and winter. Regardless of the outdoor temperature ventilation is key to keeping your home comfortable. During the summer the whole-house fans Denver residence use pull cool, outside air through the entire house and reduce the amount you spend on air conditioning. Ceiling fans also circulate air. They circulate the air within a room and can help to cool that room. These fans work by pulling air up from the floor on hot days and pushing hot air down on cool days.

During extremely hot days in the summer ventilating attic spaces keeps them from overheating and radiating heat into the lower levels of the house. The warm air and heat flowing from an attic can cause your air conditioner to overwork costing you money. Even attic insulation Denver homes may have on the floor of the attic can't withstand hot summer days. Venting the attic space will allow air to circulate out of your roof instead of becoming stuck inside the upper levels of your home.The results of ventilating your attic are dramatic- vents can lower the attic temperature up to 150 degrees.

The whole-house fan Denver home owners can install draw in cool air through open doors and windows and exhaust it through the attic during warm months. Make sure to turn off whole house fans when you close the windows and doors (during summer) because the fan motor will strain to pull air through closed windows and could burn out its motor.