3 Energy-Efficient Features To Consider In Your New Home
If you're planning to buy a home this year, consider energy efficiency in your search. With inflation driving up the cost of items in our everyday lives, seeking out an energy-efficient home can be a great way to decrease the expenses you can control. Here are 3 energy-efficient features to look out for:
1.) Insulation
Interior units don’t have as many exterior surfaces exposed to the cold winds and sun, keeping your home comfortable during all seasons saving you more money.
Insulation upgrades are one of the most popular projects when remodelling for energy efficiency. Insulation naturally keeps your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter, making it an excellent investment. There are a few things that can be considered for the best insulation.
What to look for in a good insulation? When choosing insulation, you want to consider the R-value. A higher R-value means a better ability to resist heat transfer from the inside out. So an R-21 insulation will slow down heat transfer better than a R-19.
Pay attention to attic insulation, too; because warm air rises, a lot of that can escape from the roof if your attic isn't efficiently insulated with high-rated insulation. Silver View homes use R-21 in the exterior walls, and R-49 insulation is used in the attic to combat rising air from escaping.
Within a townhome/condo community, the end units tend to receive all of the glory; an interior unit can feel cozier in the winter because it has more insulation, by not having as many exterior surfaces exposed to the cold winds and sun rays, keeping your home comfortable during all seasons will cost you much less.
2.) Heating and Cooling
Don't waste money heating or cooling areas of your home when it is not needed. Dual-zone programmable thermostats are perfect for those looking to save on electricity. They allow for a more comfortable temperature in the areas where you need them, for better energy efficiency, and less wear and tear on your HVAC components, as zoning helps them operate more methodically.
You'll have more control of temperatures in specific locations. For example, living in a two-story home, you'll find yourself being too warm upstairs but have the perfect temperature downstairs. Rather than cooling both floors resulting in a cozy upstairs and an even chillier downstairs, you can set your top floor to your desired temperature and your HVAC system will work have as hard to obtain that result.
3.) Water Heaters
Instead of a traditional tank water heater that works throughout the day to keep the water in the tank heated even when no one is using it, consider a tankless water heater. As the name states, tankless water heaters are just that, tankless. They not only take up much less room in your home but also work more efficiently by heating water only when needed and the specific amount needed, offering continuous hot water at a much lower cost.
Insulate yourself from rising home-related expenses and look for energy-efficiency qualities in your future home. Curious as to what energy efficient features we’ve included in Silver View Homes? Contact us here and we are happy to share all those features.