Each year, Fixr reaches out to industry experts to complete a survey that can help uncover industry trends and publishes the answers for homeowners and industry professionals in an easy to read report. This year’s reports includes energy-efficient home trends that can help homeowners lower energy bills save hundreds to thousands of dollars each year.
The majority of homeowners are personally motivated to save energy in order to also save money. When it comes to homes being purchased and built in 2018, there are several trending key points, including:
- Homeowners have a significant environmental awareness, which is driving some decisions.
- Ducts and windows are the two most effective places to save through air sealing.
- Heat pumps are the most popular method to heat an energy-efficient house.
- Tankless heaters are the most efficient way to heat water.
- Solar power remains the most common way to utilize renewable energy in the home.
- Cellulose and fiberglass are tied as the most popular ways to insulate an attic.
While the full report contains a wide-array of money-saving tips, here are 5 interesting takeaways to help you lower home energy bills.
Secret Energy Drains
It’s no secret that the appliances you use in your home each day are using energy. But do you know which appliances ones are using the most energy?
According to experts, electric space heaters and window air conditioners use the most energy without you necessarily realizing it. So, while you may think that using these appliances will help you save over a whole-house heating and cooling system, you may find that investing in an energy efficient HVAC, you may actually have a more comfortable home and lower energy bills at the same time.
Ways to Save Water
When you’re considering saving energy to save money, make sure you don’t overlook your water bill. Water savings is getting much easier with the introduction of low-flow faucets and fixtures, which are made to function as well as their predecessors while saving you water and money together.
The key, though, is to understand where to install them. Unless you plan on installing them throughout your home at once, it makes the most sense to put them in your full bathrooms first. Between showers, bathtubs, and multiple users, full bathrooms have the biggest potential to save you money with low-flow fixtures.
Strategic Appliance Replacement
Appliances are getting more efficient, with appliances rated with an Energy Star certification using even less energy. If you want to lower some of your energy bills, replacing some of your existing appliances with new, Energy Star rated models will help.
But not all appliances will save you money equally; some are designed to be more efficient than others. If you can’t replace them all, experts recommend focusing on the dryer and the refrigerator, both of which use significantly more energy than other appliances, so you’re more likely to notice the difference.
Where to Upgrade Your Lighting
Switching to LED bulbs, smart lighting systems, and other low energy light sources can help save money. Experts interviewed for this report identified the following factors as necessary to reaching wide-spread adoption:
Most consumers have been aware of these trends for some time now, but what you may not know is that where you make these lighting upgrades can also have an impact.
Experts recommend making changes in the kitchen and living room. Both of these spaces get used more frequently and for longer stretches of time than other rooms in the home, so you’re most likely to notice a difference if you switch.
How You Heat Your Water
Most people still have tank-style hot water heaters in their home, which heats the water before use, then holds it until you need it. They use a continuous source of energy whether heating or storing.
So, if you’re thinking of making the switch to something more efficient, keep in mind that experts say that a tankless gas heater will save you the most money. While electric heaters are considered to be more efficient, as they convert 100% of their energy into heat, the cost of electricity means that you’ll still be paying more for an electric heater than for a gas model.
Follow the Trends to Lower Energy Bills Year Round and Save
Trends in the home improvement industry are considered any popular item or method that spans a 10 year or more period. This makes them a useful way of gathering the information that you can use to make better decisions about your own home.
The trends shown in this report can help you save energy and money at the same time. Take a look at the full report on Fixr’s blog to learn more.
