Photo Credit: www.Gek.cl
Green is the word for homes as we head into the second decade of the 21st century. Energy efficiency isn’t only good for the environment, but it’s economically feasible as well in the long run. Up front, some of the changes you might want to make can seem costly, but the benefits later on will help overcome most of those issues. You may even save some money with a tax credit on green upgrades.
Below are four tips that will not only help your house become more green, but they might actually help you save some money on the way.
1. Solar panels are the way to go overall, but they can be expensive. Have you ever thought about buying used solar panels? Almost no one gets rid of solar panels because they stop working. In most instances, people upgrade to newer panels to increase on the savings they’re already experiencing. If you’re just starting out, you could probably find some great deals that could save you as much as half of the costs of installing new equipment.
2. Change your windows to at least double panes. This adds insulation to the home, helping it stay warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, as it reduces places air can either escape or get in. Make sure that whoever installs your window’s – seals them on both the inside and outside; sometimes installers try to cut corners, but that will cost you later on.
3. Add skylights. Not only are they aesthetically pleasing, but if you live in a sunny area it brings in a lot of natural light during the day, which means you won’t need to turn on the lights. Plus, skylights can help heat the house during the day. It’s the same as a car; if you sit your car in the sun on winter days, it will usually be warmer on the inside. You’ll want to make sure to install a cover so that you can shut the space down overnight.
4. Change how you heat your water. The first thing you can do is change your water heater so you can program it to go on and off at different times of the day, instead of running all the time. The second thing you can do is add a direct water heating system, which heats the water only at the points when you request hot water, this typically takes the same amount of time to heat water as when you let the water run to get hotter.
See Also:
How to Go Green In Your House
Going Green: Eco-Friendly Home Improvement and Building Products
Mitch Mitchell is a consultant who writes and participates in many different fields, including real estate finance issues. 
It’s not green to throw out something that’s still usable, so if your old windows and storm windows are in good condition, a few tubes of caulk might be all you need. Caulk everything: inside, outside, even around the glass. Then use shrinkable film on the inside in the winter, to add an extra layer of air. And close the curtains and drapes at night. If the windows are the non-opening type, or if you never open them, you can leave the film on year-round.
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Hi Gina,
You might be right, but not in all circumstances. One residence I moved into had this super large single pane window. There was nothing that could be done to keep the cold weather out, no caulking, no plastic, not a thing. When you live in an area where the temperatures regularly fall into the teens in the winter, that’s just not going to get it done, no matter how pristine and perfect the window looks. So, it may depend on where one lives.
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One thing that often gets overlooked is the outside landscaping. Going towards more of a water eff. landscape is simple. Things such as installing drip lines in the flowerbeds and monitoring spray heads to limit excessive over-spay onto sidewalks are just 2 ways to limit water usage.
Mitch, I did specify that the windows had to have good storm windows as well. Where I live, in New Brunswick (Canada), the temperature drops to minus 30 Celsius (that’s below zero in Fahrenheit), and I only had to change four of the windows here. One of them was a big home-made single-pane picture window like the one you describe, not worth trying to salvage.
They don’t allow for attachments here, but if you’ll go to my website’s homepage at http://www.my-green-home-project.com, the cover photo of the video at the top shows three of the 14 windows that I didn’t have to change. I have painted the aluminum storm windows in white and I’m very happy with the results, both aesthetically and efficiency-wise. My house has had the two mandatory blower door tests in order to get government grants (one test before and another after the energy efficiency upgrades) and after caulking them those windows did not leak at all.
.-= Gina´s last blog ..Your Green Home Questions Are Answered Here =-.
That’s pretty interesting where you live, Gina, as I lived in Limestone, ME, for 4 1/2 years when I was much younger. So I know about temperatures like that.
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@Gina
You could still replace the single pane windows and just donate them to Habitat For Humanity or a similar organization to be reused. You get more efficient windows and the old ones get reused…2 green points in one!
These are some great tips on making your home green. Especially the idea of adjusting your settings for your water heater. This is a example of how people can do such easy things to help themselves save money and help the earth. Great Article.
I like the idea of used solar panels. You can also get slightly blemished panels that cost less but perform virtually the same as non-blemished panels.
These are some great ideas that I have heard are very effective as well. I like the idea of double paned windows, I also feel that this is one of the most affordable greening methods. I really like your idea of how to heat the water in your home, this seems like a great idea.
I have heard that you can now rent solar panels. This is another option.
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Yes you can rent them. But, I have to say that you would be better off investing in them. Think of it this way. It’s like renting to own. You in the end pay double the cost of the product. Just a thought. Cheers!
Liking the interior of the home is nice but if the landscaping is shody than why bother?
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One thing we have been seeing an increase in demand for is customers wanting to re-design their landscaping for a lower water need. Mainly in their back yards, we are removing large areas of grass and replacing it with more drought tolerant grass and or installing xeriscaping. This way they can get by without watering their grass or plants but still having a really nice looking property. I think this is a really good way to help make a property “green.”
Some great tips in your post Mitch. I also think its wise to state that in the coming years we are going to see a big shift towards a greener way of living, not only because more and more people are becoming aware of the need to protect our planet, but also because as technology has developed and changed over recent years, this has decreased the price of to the public of obtaining and utilising things such as solar panels and supper efficient heating equipment.
In my opinion technology and equipment is going to get better, cheaper and more accesible to more and more householders which is a great thing.
I have to say that I believe more people will be going “green” also, mainly because it offers the possibilities of saving money. However, in many communities, the cost of being more environmentally friendly are still going to have to come down even more, along with the better technology such as longer storage for solar batteries.
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@Gina While I agree that it’s generally not green to chuck stuff that still works, there are a few exceptions. Some products use much more energy in their use than in their manufacture or disposal. e.g. hot water boilers, light bulbs, conventional petrol cars, and a few others.
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Solar panels can be a bit of an eyesore – which does hurt their resale (although they are easily removed as well).
But the other 3 not only increase savings, but also increase value to the home overall.
May I suggest window tinting as a energy saving tool for the home?
If I have enough money, I’m very much interested to build a house which use solar panel. In a tropical country like in our place, I need to take advantage of the heat of the sun here. It’s pretty cheap and environment friendly too. But, I’m not sure how much each panel cost.