Making your home more efficient is an excellent way of beating the rising cost of living that is befalling most of the US. But, it isn’t the only way to improve your home whilst at the same time reducing your overall costs.
Some of these are quick and easy and relatively cheap fixes that you can do yourself, while others will likely take a team of laborers. It is worth shopping around to see what quotes you can get in, and don’t be afraid to haggle either.
Using ex-display goods is a great way of achieving what you want without having to pay top price, and they are mostly still in good condition and will just need a clean.
Painting and decorating
Before you start painting any walls or putting up wallpaper, you need to make the walls good which may involve some plastering or filling of cracks. Ultimately, this is also how you will reduce heat loss through the walls, so doing this preparation work is actually the key. But, you obviously don’t want to leave it like that, so it is also a great excuse to have a bit of a refresh with a splash of paint or some funky wallpaper.
Giving your rooms this facelift could enable you to make them feel warmer and more inviting too, so psychologically you might think you can put the thermostat a little lower but still have that cozy sensation.
Aesthetic touches
While redecorating, you may add blankets to sofas, put up lined curtains, and scatter the room with candles or LED fairy lights. The first two will give instant added warmth, while the latter two provide extra light at a fraction of the cost of more traditional lights. They also all make a room feel more romantic and are perfect for the colder months and the dark nights.
Lined curtains can make your curtains look thick and a more premium product, with thermal lining or blackout lining creating the desired effect at keeping the warmth in and not allowing it to escape through your windows.
Windows and draught proofing
Checking your windows are up to standard and there are no leakages for draughts should be your first step in improving your home. Heat lost from the room in this way could be a reason why your energy bills are particularly high, but it can be easily rectified.
Replacing blown glazing or filling air pockets is a reasonably simple job for a window installer. Don’t forget to check your front and back doors too, plus any patio doors you might have.
If you need several doing, you may well get a discount for replacing them all at once. Alternatively, if you want to really boost your energy efficiency, opting for triple glazing over the more regular double glazing, can help too. For improvements such as these, releasing equity in your home may be a sensible option to pay for it, knowing you should make the money back in the long run. Most equity release providers will cap the amount they will offer, usually between 20% and 50% of the property’s market value.
Draught-proofing doesn’t just affect windows and doors, with anywhere there is an open area to the outside being susceptible. This includes chimney flues, loft hatches, and kitchen and bathroom ventilation.
Redesigning bathrooms and kitchens
When repairing any areas of the bathroom or kitchen, installing more energy efficient appliances or reconfiguring the rooms to make them lose less energy through old extractor fans and similar holes all add up to reduce your bills.
The US has pledged a commitment to being Net Zero by 2050, and manufacturers of bathroom suites and kitchen appliances are already doing whatever they can to make their products more sustainable and increase their energy efficiency rating.
A lot of the time you can install these yourselves too, cutting down on your own costs, using a selection of our tools. Browse our catalog or speak to one of our advisors who will be able to help you choose the right tool for the job.
Roof repairs and insulation
A more expensive, time-consuming and labour-intensive job, but no less important, is making repairs to your roof. As we all know, heat rises, so it will just escape out of any holes in the roof. Damp coming through the roof can also cause problems that may see you needing to operate dehumidifiers which use a huge amount of energy to run.
Insulating walls and lofts is also a vital way of keeping heat in your house. Again, this is something you could do yourself by buying insulation in bulk. If you are doing it though, it is not worth cutting corners to make it cheaper, as that won’t help in the long run. Get the best insulation material you can afford and do it everywhere you can. You should find that your property is instantly warmer.
Converting your loft can add value to your home, but you would need to make sure that the surrounding installation in the eaves is enough that you are not actually causing more potential heat issues by opening up the space to the rest of the house.
Final thoughts
Whatever your plans are for your home improvements, we are likely to have the tools that you need to be able to do the job properly, with everything from paintbrushes to pipe cutters, and sealant to soldering. Check out our range online and take a look at our blogs for ideas, hints and tips to make each task a doddle.
