It’s approaching the time of year to plan household upgrades. Along with new lighting, cabinets, carpets, and curtains, you might’ve also considered replacing an entire room or floor.
When it comes to renovations, stripping out old units and appliances creates opportunities for greener technologies in your home. You could even access a loan through the Green Deal to make your home more efficient too.
Whether you’ve just moved into your dream project home or you’re giving a new lease of life to the family home, greener upgrades could be more accessible than you might expect.
How Can I Make My Home More Energy-Efficient?
Lighting Upgrades
Switching to energy-efficient lighting doesn’t have to mean just replacing lightbulbs. As long as you’re using bulbs with a good energy efficiency rating, you can make your home look even more impressive with new fixtures and fittings for your favourite rooms.
If you’re looking to create a cosy, rustic vibe, leave the halogen bulbs behind and opt for warm candle LEDs instead. Or if you need useful task lighting for a kitchen or even spotlights for the bathroom, brighter whites could do the trick.
Underfloor Heating
Underfloor heating is an eco-friendly way to heat your home for two main reasons.
Firstly, due to the wider surface area covered, water can be heated to lower temperatures than in traditional radiators, meaning less energy is used in the process. Secondly, underfloor heating is more efficient because it heats the room evenly, rather than concentrating it in just one spot.
If you’d like to install underfloor heating throughout your home, it could be worth replacing your heating system too. You can buy electric boilers optimised for underfloor heating, with some models even boasting a compact design that enables you to install them underground.
Roof Insulation
In an uninsulated home, up to a quarter of all heat is lost through the roof. When you insulate the attic, flat roof, or loft, you’ll benefit from an invisible yet effective way to keep the heat inside and save money on your energy bills.
It doesn’t matter what sort of roof you have on your home. Creating a barrier on any type of loft space will protect you from the harsher temperatures as winter approaches but should also help your home to remain relatively cool in any extreme summer heat too.
Double-Glazed Windows
Double-glazed windows are extremely energy efficient and can significantly reduce heat loss or gain, especially when compared to their single-glazed counterparts.
You can even buy specialist glazing that comes with a special coating to reflect heat back into the home without sacrificing natural light through the windows.
Before You Go…
It’s important to bear in mind that there could be various government grants and schemes by local authorities available to help you renovate your home.
Always do your research beforehand to check if any eco-friendly initiatives are being supported in your area – and you could save even more than you’d expect.
