Owning a home is great, but owning a beautiful home that’s also energy efficient is mind-blowing. You’ll spend each moment savoring different aspects of your home, patting yourself on the back for making certain decisions to balance convenience and function. Wondering how to make your home simultaneously beautiful and energy efficient? Read on.
Balance Between Home Size and Shape
The size and shape of your home can positively or negatively impact energy efficiency at home. An open-plan home is harder to keep warm than one with numerous doors and walls. Conversely, homes with higher ceilings consume more energy and need more heat than homes with standard-height ceilings.
Before moving into your new home or during the design stages of a building project, consult an energy efficiency expert for advice on making your home comfortable and energy efficient.
Embrace Color
While modern trends advocate for neutral and bold colors, you can’t be afraid of bright colors if you aim to live in an aesthetically pleasing and energy-efficient home. Feel free to include pops of greens, yellows, blues, purples, and reds to keep your home tasteful. Your bathroom can have a different mood from your living room, but both spaces can feel cozy. Color is a clever way to keep your home fresh and new through the years.
Opt for Energy Star Certified Appliances
Appliances with energy star ratings that have earned approval from the Energy Protection Agency-EPA are the best to install in your home to keep it beautiful and energy efficient. To keep your energy bills low, purchase appliances like bulbs, dehumidifiers, iron boxes, dishwashers, refrigerators, washers and driers, and HVAC systems with energy star ratings. The HVAC system is one of the top energy consumers in almost all modern homes. In fact in 2019, the HVAC systems industry stood at $240.8 billion globally. Consider switching to HVAC systems and home appliances with an energy star rating of 4 and above.
Consider Home Smart Tech
Everything in your home can be automated thanks to smart tech systems. You can remotely open your windows, lock the doors, turn on the alarm system, preheat the oven, shut off the lights, turn on the TV, etc. Smart tech is the newest lifestyle trend for homeowners who want to keep their energy costs low. Plus, your home looks super cool.
Studies show that if you open and close your garage door at least thrice daily, you can go for 6 to 10 years before needing repairs or garage door replacement services. Therefore, smart technology can help manage your energy bill and extend the durability of various moving parts like your garage door.
Seek Alternative Energy Solutions
Electricity is the main source of energy most homes rely on. However, skyrocketing energy bills force many property owners to opt for more environment-friendly, pocket-friendly options. Viable alternative energy options you could consider include:
- Hybrid systems like wind and solar
- Wind energy
- Micro-hydro power
Most of these systems can run anything in your home that needs power, including electronics like a global pad printing machine whose market size, according to Future Market Insights, has hit the $1,136.7 million mark as of 2023. Most alternative energy solutions like solar can seem costly to install, but a small price to pay for years of unlimited energy to run your home.
Don’t Forget About the Landscaping
A home without greenery appears bland and unwelcoming. Landscaping makes the exterior of your property pleasing to the eye and can raise its value. Another plus that your landscaping adds to your home is that it is a natural cooling system. When you have shrubs and trees strategically planted around your home, they provide shade and cool your home’s exteriors and interiors. Therefore, you won’t need to keep the AC on to keep your home cool throughout summer, and you can save on energy costs.
Feel free to consult a landscaping expert to help you incorporate water features, decorative plants, and other aspects of landscaping that need minimal maintenance.
Even if you have an older home, there’s a lot you can do to turn it into a beautiful, energy-efficient property. Above are excellent pointers to get you started on the journey of making your home energy-efficient and magazine worthy. Check out our website for more on innovative business solutions and the latest sports, education, technology, shopping, and lifestyle trends.
