Earth Day: Five Steps for a More Sustainable Home
By: Chris De La Motte
Tags: Sustainability, Earth Day, Fintech, Green Energy, Home Improvement

Earth Day, celebrated each year on April 22, is an annual observation that encourages global citizens to demonstrate their concern for our planet and demand action from those most empowered to enact meaningful change.

On the individual level, there are numerous ways you can do your part and make environmentally conscious choices that benefit our planet. You might already be taking steps to minimize your environmental impact — using energy efficient light bulbs, turning off lights and appliances when not in use, reducing the length of showers, recycling packaging, and more. If so, that’s great!

But have you thought about whether your home is as environmentally friendly as it might be? Sustainability starts at home, if you will — so, in honor of this Earth Day, here are just a few ways that you can “green” your property and reduce your environmental impact:

Solar panels

Depending on your property type, you might want to consider reducing your carbon footprint by installing rooftop solar panels. They have become significantly more affordable in recent years and, through the end of 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is continuing to offer a tax credit — The Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit — to offset the cost associated with installation.

Not only are solar panels environmentally friendly, but in the long run they could add to your home’s value — studies have shown that prospective homebuyers are often willing to pay a premium for solar installations!

Insulation

Poor home insulation can lead to excessive and unnecessary energy consumption, which has detrimental effects on the environment and your pocketbook. If looking to implement energy-saving home improvements, you should first have a professional conduct a home energy audit to determine how much energy your home is using, where you are losing energy, and the areas in which you can implement efficient and cost-saving fixes.

When insulating your home, there are various types of insulation you can select from. Your choice may depend on which part of the house you’re insulating, and how easy it is to access.

Windows + Doors

According to the Department of Energy, the heat gained and lost through residential openings is responsible for 25–30 percent of home heating and cooling energy use. That’s no small figure!

First, you can conduct a visual inspection of your windows, doors and skylights to see if there are any obvious gaps that are allowing air to easily flow in or escape. It could be a simple fix — caulking and weather stripping can help to reduce leakage — but, depending on your openings’ condition, it might also be time to replace them. Again, the Department of Energy is a useful resource when it comes to learning about how the different types of windows, doors, frame materials, glazing, gas fills and operating types should factor into your decision.

This may sound like a significant undertaking, but it’s one that will pay dividends if you plan to stick around in your home — just installing storm windows can save you anywhere from 12 percent to 33 percent each year on your heating and cooling bills!

Lighting

You’ve likely heard of light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs, and may even have them in some rooms, but you might want to consider making them ubiquitous around your home. LED technology is exceptionally energy efficient, meaning that LED light bulbs will consume far less power and subsequently last longer than regular bulbs. In fact, an LED light bulb can reduce energy consumption by at least 75 percent and last up to 25 times longer than its incandescent counterpart.

Additionally, though currently more commonplace in commercial facilities, advanced lighting controls are making their way into residential settings. These systems typically include dimmers, occupancy sensors, and communication-based control devices that can automatically ensure that lights are turned off, or dimmed, when rooms are not in use.

Heating

Depending on where you live, you may be consuming a great deal of energy to heat your home. We all value comfort, of course, but with a few tweaks you may be able to minimize the environmental impact of your proclivity for balmy temperatures.

Home heating is usually the most energy-intensive and expensive system in your home, but there are ways you can save on your energy bill while limiting your emissions. Diligent maintenance of your equipment is crucial — be sure to replace furnace filters regularly, clean radiators and heaters periodically, and ensure that there are no obstructions that may be impeding the functionality of your heating system.

On the other hand, you might be in the market for a brand-new heating system. There are various telltale signs that it may be time to replace your existing one: excessive noise, persistent humidity problems, the need for frequent repairs, or simply its age. Talk to your contractor about upgrading to a unit that has earned the ENERGY STAR seal of approval and, in the meantime, take the time to educate yourself about the different types of equipment available to you here.

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Depending on whether you already live in your house, or are planning a new property from scratch, your approach to sustainable installations may be different. Regardless, where possible, it’s worth hiring an experienced design and building team who will employ a “whole-building” systems approach to identify the most cost-effective and energy-efficient solutions for your particular needs.

Whether you’re making some minor tweaks, or designing a new home from the ground up, we hope this brief primer provides some helpful “green-spiration.” Incorporating sustainability into your home’s design represents an investment in the planet — and that’s one investment that we think is worth making.

Simplist is a digital mortgage marketplace committed to modernizing and simplifying the mortgage application process. For more information, visit us at www.simplist.com.