Why We Love Energy Efficient Homes (And You Should, Too!)

By Sabrina Biehl Published Nov 24, 2015 06:32 am Updated Nov 17, 2015 04:35 pm

A home is a place where many of your major milestone memories are made, including those related to holidays, parties and more. This is also a place where daily life activities take place, such as chatting with your family over morning coffee, chatting about your day in the evening and other activities. With so much of your life taking place at home, you certainly want this space to be comfortable, and you also want it to be aesthetically pleasing with beautiful décor and stylish features. You may not place much emphasis on making your home truly energy efficient, but there are a few primary reasons why you should. In fact, once you learn more about the benefits of living in an energy efficient home, you may be ready to make a few upgrades.

You Will Save Money

When you think about making your home more energy efficient, you may think about the cost of making various improvements around the house. For example, the cost of adding solar panels and replacing your existing appliances with Energy Star appliances may come to mind. These are just a few of the green improvements that you can make, and while there is an up-front cost associated with them, there is also a cost of not having them. Depending where you live, the season and the size of your home, for example, you may be paying $150-300 or more per month on energy costs. With solar panels, this monthly expense could be eliminated. In some cases, such as when Energy Star appliances and LED light bulbs are used, the energy consumption in the home can decrease as well. When the home produces more energy than it makes, you may actually make money on energy rather than lose money each month. You simply have to make the up-front investment into an energy efficient home. Another way you may save money is by putting less strain on your HVAC unit when your home is well-sealed. This will minimize repairs and prevent you from having to file a home warranty claim as frequently.

There is Less Impact on the Environment

Many who think about living in an energy efficient home do so because of the financial savings, but they may also do it because of the impact on the environment. There are actually two ways that the environment benefits when you have an energy efficient home. First, you will preserve natural resources like coal, gas and oil. These are only available in a limited supply, so minimizing their use means that they will be available for a longer period of time. The second benefit of an energy efficient home is a reduction in pollution. Consuming some types of energy causes pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that damage the environment. An energy efficient home gives you these two combined benefits.

The Economy Will Get a Boost

Any purchase you make will give the economy a boost. For example, if you invest in barn door hardware for your home, the company that made the hardware will see a profit and will be able to sustain jobs. Your purchase of energy efficient features and products fuels these companies, and it fosters their ability to continue to innovate new products and technologies. In addition, you may also be boosting the economy with the installation of your features. For example, you provided income to the company that installed the solar panels or that offered building improvement services.

You Are Promoting National Security

When you think about energy efficient homes, national security may be the last thing you think about. However, because the economy is dependent on foreign sources for energy, the country does have to keep this in mind with foreign relations activities. In addition, your purchase of these products enables the companies to continue to innovate new technology, and this may be used by the military on their bases as well as in armed conflict situations.

You Will Enjoy a Better Quality of Life

Your quality of life will be impacted by everything from how comfortable your home’s indoor climate is to the intensity of the light from your light bulbs. Many of the energy efficient changes that you make around the house can improve quality of life. For example, sealing doors and windows decreases energy costs related to HVAC system usage. It also can decrease temperature fluctuations and drafts. In addition, many prefer the natural lighting from energy efficient LED lights over incandescent bulbs. These are only a few of the ways that energy efficiency can improve your quality of life.

There are many reasons to love having an energy efficient home. You could look for energy efficient features when you are buying a new home, or you could retrofit and upgrade your home so that it has more of these features in it.