Energy Improvements to Increase Your Home’s Value
Everyone wants to save money. For homeowners or buyers, having a home that is energy efficient makes sense. Why waste money in heating, cooling, and running excess electricity through your home when there is an easier, more environmentally and budget friendly way? Whether you’re looking to sell or buy a home, knowing what types of fixes and upgrades you can do to make your house more energy efficient can provide financial benefits. While you may not want to invest the money in new, energy efficient appliances, there are some simple steps you can take to increase your home’s comfort and energy efficiency.
Identifying Problems
The first step in improving the energy efficiency of your home is to identify any problems. Existing air leaks and faulty appliances can add up to big charges on your monthly power bill, as well as make your home less desirable and even uncomfortable to be in. Energy Star is a program of the Environmental Protection Agency through which both businesses and homeowners voluntarily make a pledge to make their homes and buildings more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Energy Star identifies a number of problems that affect energy efficiency in the home, and advises consumers on the best way to address these problems. Common energy efficiency problems and causes include:
- Drafty rooms, with high heating or cooling bills: check the insulation in your attic, and check for air leaks around doors and windows.
- Cold floors in the winter, with high heating bills: check the insulation level in your basement or crawl space.
- Uneven temperatures between rooms: look for cracks and kink, and losses air supply boots or missing insulation.
Heating and Cooling Systems
Heating and cooling plays a big part in keeping your home comfortable. There are some easy fixes to your home heating and cooling system that can make it run more efficiently. These include:
- Checking your air filter regularly;
- Tuning up HVAC equipment yearly;
- Installing programmable thermostats; and
- Sealing heating and cooling ducts.
Whether you’re thinking about buying or selling a home, either way you’re going to want to get the most for your money. For buyers, that means homes that are energy efficient and won’t drain their budget either in terms of paying high energy costs, or having to completely overhaul the home. For sellers, that means making fixes now, before you start showing your home, so the energy efficiency of the property you’re offering is another attractive selling point to potential buyers.
Contact Our Experienced Attorneys Today
For all of your real estate needs, contact our experienced New York real estate attorneys today. At Cavallo & Cavallo, our attorneys have years of experience in the New York real estate market. We can help guide and assist you through the entire process of selling or buying a home. Whether you’re looking for an investment property, or simply a place to call home, call us today. With offices in the Bronx and Westchester, we are prepared to provide you with the efficient and effective legal service you require to handle all of your real estate planning needs.
