Men and women everywhere are looking to spend more time at home either to save money or stay in from the cold. However, how often does everyone think of the roof over their head? The roof is considered one of the most essential parts of your house. It protects everything that is near and dear to us. By greening your roof, it is possible to protect those things, save money, and save the Earth.
Here are some roof upgrades which can increase a home’s energy efficiency and reduce utility costs:
New Roof – Two words that no one likes to hear. It strikes fear into the hearts of homeowners. Even so, for those who consider it, a damaged and/or worn out roof is not protecting your home efficiently. Not only can this damage other parts of your property, it drives up your cooling and heating costs. A wonderful place to begin learning about energy efficient roofing is EnergyStar.gov. These types of products reflect much more of the sun’s rays. By doing so, they minimize the temperature in the roof by up to 100 degrees! According to the internet site, they also reduce heat lost in the winter and can reduce energy needed to cool a property by 10{919468b76a1b111b1791bdf3e51426d8562c963af300c016649515c15309dd6c} – 15{919468b76a1b111b1791bdf3e51426d8562c963af300c016649515c15309dd6c}.
Skylights – Skylights let in natural light which reduces dependency on artificial light sources (and lowers electricity expenses)!!! A skylight also can be utilized to vent out moisture, fumes, and possibley harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs). By doing so, it’ll improve the indoor air quality. Skylights may also let in cool breezes in the fall and spring when it’s too warm or too cool for comfort but still too early to kick in the heat or the air conditioning. When installed correctly, they are no more likely to leak than any other appropriately installed window.
Insulation – Certainly one of the most vital components to a home attic is insulation. According to the US Department of Energy, inadequate attic insulation and air leakage are the top electricity wasters in most homes. If an attic is poorly insulated, it can allow heat to leak out in the winter and fail to repel the heat in the summer. Both of these situations require heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems to use far more energy. Add insulation if the existing insulation is level with or below the floor joists. If the floor joists are not visible since they’re covered, there is most probably already sufficient insulation.
Solar Panels – Solar energy is certainly one of the cleanest power sources out there. Low profile rooftop solar panels and solar power heating systems harness the sun’s energy to heat water (which will trim water bills) and to produce electricity. Not only does this lower the cost to heat a home’s water, it also reduces the nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide emissions that frequent burner startups cause. The very best component of solar panels is that if less electricity than your solar panels generate is used, the electric company can buy back the extra power. Solar panels could be a money-saver and a money-maker!
As always, it’s the small things in life which will make big changes. Something as simple as the roof on a residence becoming greener can help lower a home’s carbon footprint.
