Over the past few years energy prices have shot through the roof, leaving the average Joe with a hefty bill at the end of every month or quarter. In order to drive your consumption down its best to be suitably prepared for any harsh weather conditions, there are a few ways you can be prepared and lower you energy bills, I hope the following advice will lead you on the road to lower fuel consumption:
Insulation
There many different kinds of insulation available on the domestic markets, for example older houses may not have cavities in the walls as well as planning restraints that could prevent exterior cladding. If you are looking to make your home energy efficient then ensuring your home is well insulated is essential. In some cases, not being able to have exterior cladding outside allows for the option of interior cladding, so it’s not the end of the world and you are still activity making an effort to reduce your energy consumption.
If you would like to find out what the best methods of insulation are for your home then consider hiring a well-known contractor in your area to assess the areas of highest heat loss. Once you have added insulated material into your home you should start to see and feel the benefits almost within a month, a warmer house, less energy consumption and cheaper energy bills. The more you invest into insulation in the short term the more you are likely to get out of it in the long term.
Heating
Many homes still rely on natural gas to power their central heating, however energy saving electric heaters are now becoming more and more popular as they have numerous benefits over the traditional methods.
The impact of an electric boiler on the environment is significantly less than a gas boiler as they do not require any form of combustion, reducing the amount of pollution into our atmosphere. Depending on your location the energy used to power your electric heaters can come from the national grid which is powered by a fossil fuel based power station. This is potentially contentious but when energy is sourced from alternative sources such as a wind farm and water turbines the potential of reducing your homes carbon footprint is huge.
With more and more people choosing to install renewable energy sources in their homes, the energy sources you can draw your energy from have become wide and varied as some are more effective than others and it can often come down to your location. Home owners are now investing in technologies like solar panels, solar water heaters, wind and hydroelectric turbines. Home owners have been offered incentives by local authorities to source their own energy, sometimes owners have been given grants to install solar panels and wind turbines. The costs of installing and setting up renewable energy sources can be fairly large, but once purchased you have the ability to call your home a carbon neutral household.
Electric boilers
These types of boilers have now boasted a 100% efficiency rating, this means that they can heat your home by using far less energy than traditional gas boilers. Property owners often worry about the complications associated with the installation process of new boilers, however electric boilers are much easier to install as they don’t require a flue through your wall.
When it comes to maintaining an electric boiler it can require far less work that the old gas boilers as they have less moving parts. Old gas boilers need to be checked and maintained regularly, where as electrical central heating may only need to be checked over once a year.
There are many options available to the carbon caring households, preparation is key and it’s often advised to get any work done in the summer months, as households tend to use more energy in the winter months. The more long term solutions naturally have a higher initial cost but the benefits can be seen for many years. If you don’t have the budget to insulate your home try to find other ways to reduce your carbon footprints online.
Guest Article
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