How To Build Your Energy-Efficient Home

April showers bring May flowers. In other words, it is officially spring! Soon we’ll be prepping our gardens and getting back to doing the yard work we all love to do so much. But before all that, we’ll celebrate Earth Day! In its honor, we wanted to highlight how home automation devices can make your house an energy-efficient home are a win-win for both you and the planet. They save you money, which is a win for you, and by using less energy, it lessens your carbon footprint which is a win for the planet! Yay, go you!

Utilities

Each household is different and therefore uses more or less energy depending on a few different factors like location, size, number of occupants, number of electronics, and so on. If you live in an apartment in the U.S., the average utility bill is between $100-150 each month.  If you are a homeowner, your utility bills will be closer to the $400/ per month give or take. Some utilities like sewer, trash, internet, and cable are billed as services and do not depend on energy usages. The average cost for energy in US households is $1411.80 per year. Luckily, swapping some of the typical household features in your home with smart devices can help lower that number and put you well on your way to becoming a more energy-efficient home! 

The Savings

So what devices can save you the most money? Great question, reader—we were just getting to that. Nest Learning Thermostat on average saves you 10-12% on heating and up to 15% on cooling. According to Move.org, nearly half of the average energy bill every month goes toward just heating and cooling. Switching to a smart thermostat alone will save you hundreds every year. Next up would be replacing the light bulbs in the most frequently used rooms in your house with smart light bulbs. Traditional light bulbs are about 60-watts at least and only last between  750-2000 hours. Smart lights only use 9 watts of energy that mirrors a 60-watt brightness and lasts 22,000 hours. That’s 22 years of use at 3 hours per day! Adding motion sensor lighting to the exterior of your home, running your dishwasher, washer, and dryer at night are other minor things you can do to conserve energy!

If you’re ready to start building your energy-efficient home call WISE today at 1-844-904-9473!