There are so many things you can do to make your home more energy-efficient – and you may even be able to get funding to pay for it. Let’s find out more.
We’d all like to make our homes more energy-efficient. It makes financial sense as you spend less on your energy bills, and it makes environmental sense too. However, the initial outlay required to make your home energy efficient makes it an impossible dream for many people. It’s simply unaffordable.
In this article, we’ll look at five things you can do when designing your home to boost energy efficiency. We’ll also look at ways to alleviate the cost through extra funding. Let’s go.
1 – Smart design for new homes
In many ways, it’s much easier to design for energy efficiency when you’re building a new home from scratch, rather than adapting an existing property. Today’s architects and designers should be well-versed in everything you need to do to create a home that runs at net-zero.
When designing a home, architects need to consider how much energy the house will use when everyone is in it. Energy modelling software can help you make the right choices regarding some of the other things we’ll discuss in the following sections.
The designers need to stay in constant contact with the housebuilders to make sure everything is done correctly and no corners are cut. When everything works in harmony, you’ll get the most energy-efficient home at the lowest possible cost.
2 – Power your home with renewable energy
Perhaps the simplest way to make your home energy efficient is to generate the energy you use yourself. In most cases, that means solar power. Install solar panels on your roof and turn the sun’s power into electricity for your home. However, solar power isn’t the only option. Depending on where your home is situated, you may be able to use wind power, biomass, heat pumps or something else.
The bad news is that installing a new energy source in your home is probably the most expensive part of making your home more energy-efficient.
When designing a new home, you can employ solar tempering techniques to boost energy efficiency and lower heating and cooling costs. This means installing large south-facing windows that absorb the sun’s heat during the winter, then shuttering them during the summer to cool your home down. Make the sun work for you.
3 – Seal and insulate your home
Sealing your home from the elements is the most cost-effective way to boost energy efficiency in your home. Even the tiniest holes in your building envelope can let in cold air, requiring you to switch on the heating and consume energy.
Next, once your house is sealed and airtight, insulate your home to keep the warm air in. You’ll need insulation in your roof, but don’t forget the walls, ceiling and floors. (This will be easier if you’re designing a home from scratch rather than adapting your current home.)
Of course, your home can never be 100% sealed and insulated; you need doors to come and go and windows so you can see out. Make sure you fit windows and doors with the highest levels of insulation, minimising heat loss and keeping your home sealed.
4 – Watch your water
Hot water is essential, but heating and cooling water is often the most significant energy user in your home. Improving your energy efficiency depends on how you deal with water heating. Adopt a two-pronged strategy here by using the most efficient methods to heat your water, then looking at ways to minimise your water use.
There is some excellent technology to make heating water more energy-friendly, including the air source ductless heat pump that is extremely energy-efficient. Also, this type of heat pump does not cost as much as a thermal heat pump.
Next, look at ways to use less water in your home. For example, do you really need to sprinkle your garden every day during the summer?
5 – Choose energy-efficient appliances
Finally, look at the appliances you use in your home and where they could be more energy efficient. Most white goods like your washing machine, refrigerator and dryer come with energy efficiency ratings. When it’s time to replace the ones you have now, make sure you get one with the best possible rating. Hopefully, you’ll notice the difference in lower energy bills.
Another thing to consider is your lighting. Make sure all your light bulbs are LEDs. They are much more energy-efficient than the traditional bulbs. You’ll also find that they last a lot longer. On the other hand, try to design your home to make better use of natural light, so you don’t need to switch your lights on as much.
Paying for energy efficiency in your home
It would be nice to design a home from scratch with energy efficiency at the forefront of the plans. It would also be fantastic to adapt your home to run as close to net-zero as possible. However, everything needs to be paid for – and a lot of the measures we talked about above are very expensive indeed.
Fortunately, there are some methods to alleviate parts of this cost.
- Grants – Several energy suppliers operate schemes to help pay for upgrading energy efficiency in your home. Contact your supplier for more details
- Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) – You may be able to claim an upfront grant to swap your old boiler for a heat pump
- Feed-in Tariff (FIT) – If you generate your own energy through solar power, you can sell any excess power back to the National Grid
- Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) – Similar to the FIT, the Smart Export Guarantee is when your energy supplier pays you as a small-scale generator for your low-carbon power
These are just some of the methods available that may alleviate the cost of boosting energy efficiency – and things change quickly. Do your research on what is available and find the right scheme for you.
Of course, you could also look at it as an investment, which you will get a return on through lower energy bills. But however you do it, boosting energy efficiency in your home can only benefit us all.