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NYC & NJ
Home Improvement: Making Your Home More Energy Efficient |
Just about everyone these days is concerned about ways to lower
their electricity and gas bills—whether you live in a 2 bedroom
on the Upper East Side or a sprawling ranch in Bergen County, NJ.
And as the fuel crisis is coinciding with the housing crisis in
this country, more and more people are remodeling their homes rather
than moving to another location. These New Jersey and New York
City home improvement projects provide the perfect opportunity
to not only give your home a fresher look, but also offer a chance
to save money on long term utility costs with energy
efficient building strategies.
Seal Your Home’s Thermal Envelope
The first and most important step in making sure you’re home
is efficient is to ensure that you have a tight seal around your
home—also called the thermal envelope--aren’t merely
leaking heated or cooled air to the outside. Make sure doors and
windows are properly sealed. Depending on the age of your windows,
this may mean replacing windows with newer more energy efficient
models.
Adding spay-in insulation to traditionally inaccessible areas like
attics and crawl spaces can reduce energy use by 15-20%; spray-in
insulation can fill in small gaps and cracks that are oftentimes
invisible to the eye.
Use Alternative Energy Sources
No one likes the idea of relying on fossil fuels anymore: they
leave a massive carbon footprint and prices are still skyrocketing.
Luckily, there are several sources of alternative energy open to
suburban homeowners such as solar
heat New Jersey geothermal
heating and cooling, and wind energy.
In the past, many homeowners resisted installing NY solar panels
because they were quite expensive and inefficient but newer solar
technology has made this infinite resource much more accessible
to home.
NJ Geothermal
technology is an even more accessible and reliable
source of energy for heating and cooling. NYC Geo-thermal heating
and cooling technology uses the ground, rather than outside air,
to provide heating and cooling. The process is relatively simple:
pipes or coils are installed beside your home in one of four ground
loop styles—vertical, horizontal, slinky and pond. A liquid
is then piped through the loop to pick up heat from the ground
during the winter or to deliver heat to the ground in summer.
Another developing source of alternative energy is wind
power.
It used to be that wind energy only came from massive wind turbines,
but residential-scale wind turbines are starting to appear on the
market and may be a viable option for some suburbanites. This newer
generation of wind turbines, which convert wind power into electricity,
are quiet, durable and can connect to your home’s power grid.
You’ll need to investigate your area’s zoning restrictions
first, since regulations vary from state to state.
Install Energy Efficient Appliances
Installing energy
efficient appliances can dramatically reduce
the amount of energy you use and therefore lower your monthly bills.
Newer Energy Star energy efficient refrigerators can reduce your
energy use by 10%. These newer energy efficient refrigerators have
better insulation and more efficient compressors, as well as more
precise temperature and defrost mechanisms, but some are more efficient
than others. In general, a top freezer model uses 10-25% less energy
than side-by-side models and forgo the automatic ice-maker since
it can increase your fridge’s energy use by 14-20%.
Water and energy efficient dishwashers can likewise make quite
an impact on your energy bills: an Energy Star qualified dishwasher
could save you up to $30 a year in utility costs. These dishwashers
use less energy and less water—which is as good for the environment
as it is for your wallet.
These days going green is easier than ever and MyHome can help
you implement these and many other NYC & NJ home improvements
that will effect your energy consumption and reduce your long term
energy costs. For more information on how to get started call 800-730-0148
or click here for your free consultation right now. |
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