Creating an Energy Efficient Home

If you feel like you’re spending too much money on your energy bill, you’re probably right. With the sun beating down on your house, the air conditioning is working extra hard to compensate. Even something like leaving too many lights on can affect your monthly bill.

The following are some tips to create an energy efficient home. The benefits are well worth the adjustments– it’s environmentally friendly and you save money in the long run.

Try Natural Cooling

Cooling and heating your home uses the most energy out of every other system in your home. To reduce this expense in the summer, try these tips:

• Block the heat. You want your home to attract less heat, so avoid painting the exterior a dark color. Dark colors absorb heat, making your home warmer. The same goes for roofing. Asphalt roofs absorb more heat than lighter materials. 
  

  

  Having quality insulation will also prevent more heat from entering your home. You should also consider installing shade screens on your windows. Fifty percent of heat that comes into the average home is through windows, so the addition of shade screens would be greatly beneficial. You may even qualify for SRP’s shade screen rebate program. And lastly, a natural way to block the heat is to plant large trees, vines, and other plants that will provide your home with shade.
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  Reduce your inside heat sources. Turn off all lights that are not necessary. Most of the energy that is used in a light bulb is to give off heat, not to produce light. The heat your lights are giving off make the air conditioning work even harder. You can also try switching to LED lighting. LED lights are energy efficient, and give off less heat than regular light bulbs. Also consider air drying your dishes – the drying cycle on your dishwasher generates a lot of unnecessary heat. The same goes for the clothing dryer; try letting your clothes air dry instead. Cooking in your microwave or on the grill instead of in the oven or on a stove top cuts down the heat emission as well.
• Remove the heat from the inside. Use your ceiling fans! They only use a small amount of electricity and cost just a fraction of what air conditioning does. Think about installing roof vents as well. Roof vents are inexpensive, easy to install, and helps remove the humidity (unwanted heat) from your attic. 

Go Solar

An energy efficient and green option is to convert to solar energy. Solar PV or solar panels are installed on top of your roof and convert the sun’s energy into electricity to power your home. Solar energy is environmentally friendly too, as it doesn’t emit greenhouse gases. You can read about the Arizona Solar Council and their services here: http://elahomerepairs.org/asc.html.

With these modifications to your home, whether they are natural tricks or they require additional set up, you will see the difference when your monthly bill arrives. Just make sure you are consulting a licensed contractor for any work that is being done.

Contact ELA Home Repairs for with your installation needs at 800-368-PROS (7767).