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In this age of sustainability, energy-efficiency and eco-friendliness, more and more people are getting into these principles and trying to adapt them to their own homes.
However, this can sometimes be hard, exhausting and costly, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing and lack experience in this field.
What’s even worse is when you don’t get the results you were hoping for, which is why you should apply the energy-efficient approach to your entire home instead of focusing on one room only.
Learning about these things beforehand is more helpful than you’ve imagined, so here’s how a whole-house systems approach can help you create an ultra-efficient home sooner than you can imagine!
What does this term mean?
First of all, you need to understand what a whole-house systems approach and an ultra-efficient home are and how these concepts can be incorporated into your home as well.
Just like the name says, the first idea is all about applying energy-efficiency to your entire home instead of doing it partially – it considers a house to be, as the official definition states, “an energy system with interdependent parts, each of which affects the performance of the entire system”.
This means it considers everything from the climate and location to appliances and residents, trying to make your property more eco-friendly.
After that, it’s time to make it ultra-efficient too by including different features of modern energy-efficiency: solar power, passive heating and sustainable landscaping.
Proper insulation
Most people hate paying lots of money for something that produces benefits they can’t see or feel right away, but this definitely isn’t one of these things.
Home insulation is a great investment in the future that will help your home and family on a daily basis – and it will give your property a new look, which is always welcome!
Insulating your exterior could be cheaper if you use second-hand materials and do some of the work on your own.
Ultimately, this idea will help you keep your home cooler in the summer and warmer during the winter, and it’s also going to reduce your consumption of energy all year long, which is even more important.
Also, switching to an energy-efficient air conditioner will help you keep your energy bill—and the temperature in your home—low.
Solar power
People living in hot areas with lots of sunny days can do wonders with their solar potential and replace their electricity usage with the power they receive from the Sun.
This idea requires some investment, and you have to make sure to install, maintain and use your equipment properly if you wish to make the most of your solar system.
Pay the most attention to your solar panels as these are the foundations of your system and what’s eventually going to make or break it.
Depending on where you live and how big your home is, you have to find the appropriate size of the panels.
Most people are choosing a reliable 5 kilowatt solar system as the optimal one for family homes and average users who just want to save some money on their monthly bill and protect the planet at the same time.
Doors and windows
Although most people aren’t aware of this problem, doors and windows are actually among the most wasteful things in our homes.
Unless sealed properly, they’re going to leak precious air and heat from your interior and make it hard for you to regulate your indoor temperature.
That’s why you need to check all your doors and windows for leaks, and weather-strip them as soon as possible.
Fortunately, you can do this on your own and thus save even more money without compromising the quality of work and the amount of energy you’ll save.
These aren’t the only ways to save energy around your home and make it more efficient than ever.
Some of the other ideas you might want to explore include installing new LED light bulbs, switching to low-flow faucets, showerheads and toilets, getting some new appliances with an Energy Star stamp, unplugging the gadgets you’re not using and planting some trees around your home that will protect you against bad weather.
Using some of these ideas, you will make your property ultra-efficient, and also inspire the people around you to follow your lead, which is the only way to preserve planet Earth for the generations to come.
