Smart Ideas for Green Home Remodeling

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Because there’s a lot of political talk passed around about renewable energy and “going green”, it’s easy to forget that making home remodeling choices that involve energy savings are just as good for your wallet as they are for the environment. If you’re planning on interior or exterior remodeling, why not make choices that are going to pay you back in the long run?

Here are some smart ideas to include green renovation in your home remodeling plans

The High Efficiency Window Replacement

If you still think of your windows as a single pane of glass designed to allow light in and for you to enjoy the view of a sunny vista, then it’s time for some change. Replacement windows have come a long way in the last 20 years, and modern energy efficient windows can reduce energy use in your home by as much as 50%. That means that – depending on how many windows you have in your home – they could pay for themselves in just a few short years.

Multi-pane windows, low e coatings, gas fills and insulated window frames can all help you achieve maximum energy efficiency with your home remodel.

Better Heating, More Savings

Even in southern California we see temperatures drop down pretty low sometimes. It takes a quality heater to keep your home at a comfortable temperature without tearing through your utility budgets. Depending on how often you run your furnace, this could account for as much as 35% of your overall energy costs each month.

Replacing a furnace in an aging home with a higher efficiency heating system and having new duct work put in can significantly reduce that. Also, remember that if you have poor insulation in your walls and attic you can still sabotage even a high-efficiency furnace as colder air saps the heat from your ducts.

Time for New Insulation

If you’re planning a more extensive home remodel, now is a great time to revisit your insulation. While some of the other ideas listed here can help improve energy efficiency and give you a greener home, insulation is where you’ll support those updates and save the most money.

Leaks in the attic and around your walls can let outside temperatures slip in easily. Also, poor quality or lower R value insulation doesn’t perform as well, especially if it’s not installed properly. Bump up the R value of your insulation, make sure you have adequate insulation levels in your attic or within your roof, and consider foil insulation.

The biggest benefit to foil insulation is its ability to reflect heat back at the source. If it’s hot outside, the foil insulation reflects more than 90% of the heat back to the sun – that reduces the load on your air condition. If you’re running your furnace, foil insulation works for you to keep the heat from rising out of your home too quickly, giving it more time to heat upper levels and maintain temperatures around ductwork so your furnace doesn’t have to work as hard to heat your home.