In 2016, homes and businesses in the U.S. combined to use nearly 1 trillion BTUs of energy. Most of that energy is used for heating and cooling, especially when it comes to homes. The Department of Energy estimates that 56% of the energy used in homes is for heating and cooling. Making energy improvements to homes and businesses saves billions of dollars every year. Those improvements can range from the simple and cheap to the complex and expensive.
Doing an energy audit of your home and then making needed upgrades is one of the easiest and cheapest things to do. You usually will wind up doing things like putting caulking and weather stripping around doors and windows and installing a smart thermostat.
Another thing you can do to your home to increase your energy efficiency is to add insulation. You have choices when it comes to adding insulation. Rolled fiberglass insulation is one option. You also can go with a spray insulation. Spray foam insulation is popular and can do a good job of insulating your house. This is not really something you can try to do yourself because spray foam machine cost is prohibitive. Spray foam machine cost can easily be in the thousands of dollars, because it includes not only a spray foam rig but also a spray foam trailer. This is not the kind of equipment that usually is offered for rent, either, so its best to hire a professional to take care of your spray foam insulation needs. You usually can have the service done for a few hundred dollars, although it may cost more if you have a large home.
If you want to make some serious investment in your home’s energy efficiency, then new windows might be your choice. Replacing your windows can cut your energy use by 10% or more. However, replacing windows is expensive. You can figure to spend several hundred dollars per window, so if you have a fairly large cost, you can expect to spend several thousand dollars.
You have a number of choices when it comes to improving your home’s energy efficiency. What you choose to do will largely be based on personal choice and cost. That’s why it’s good to explore many options, including those that cost less.
