Earth Day: Top 5 best ways to Green your home for less
You recycle your plastics and air dry your dishes, but is your home as eco-friendly as it can be?
In honor of Earth Day this week, we polled our Trulia Voices community of over 350,000 professionals across the US to share their top three tips on what green or eco-friendly changes add the most value to a home - without breaking the bank.
Surprisingly, many of the most popular fixes are relatively easy and do-it-yourself-type improvements. Below are the top 5 tips from Trulia experts, along with examples and an assessment of the costs, in terms of immediate out-of-pocket financial cost (labor, parts, etc.).
And what we heard was pretty refreshing:
1) The first step to making your home more eco-friendly or
green comes down to taking advantage of your local environment (i.e.
avoid cooling when it’s hot outside, use natural/local products).
2) The best eco-friendly changes balance short-term cost with
long-term gains. Our experts preferred improvements with clear
benefits to home value and low-to-medium cost – such as ways to reduce
your heating bills.
3) Green improvements don't have to cost an arm and a leg – from
radiant floor heat to simply adding foam insulation – providing
evidence that home owners can make green improvements at nearly any
price range.
And of course, what would a “Greening Your Home” blog post be without great examples, from double-paned windows to radiant floor heat.
Here are our favorites - from economical, do-it-yourself upgrades to fancier improvements for the more cost-indifferent.
Fav #1: Energy Star certified appliances - Earth Advantage certified home
Portland, OR
$252,500 / 4bd / 2.5ba / 1,860 sqft
Fav #2: Window&door efficiency - Double-paned windows, digital thermostats
Austin, TX
$299,900 / 3bd / 3ba / 2,616 sqft
Fav #3: Water efficient fixtures - Tankless water heater, whole house filtration system
Hull, MA
$499,000 / 3bd / 2ba / 2,182 sqft
Fav #4: Better heating/cooling systems - Radiant heat floors
Berkeley, CA
$895,000 / 4bd / 3bd / 1,999 sqft
Fav #5: Insulation - Spray foam insulation, in-floor heating
Minneapolis, MN
$1.095M / 4bd / 3.5ba / 2,760 sqft
So this Earth Day, don’t just plant a tree, make a lasting change on your day-to-day eco-impact through your home. Happy Earth Day!
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
Comments
B. Seal the air leaks - Yes!
1. I trust you mean hydronic in floor radiant heat - electric is a killer for cost - also this is not your typical remodel job! At least you can use a heat pump with hydronic in floor heat.
2. Solar hot water doesn't have to cost much and saves greatly - I turn off the electric backup on 1 April and will turn it on 1 November.
3. HRV or ERV ventilation heat recovery systems are very useful and depending on the house present heating system may be a 'not to hard' addition.
4. Shading for windows to prevent solar gain - not expensive & effective for windows with certian orientations.
5. Replacement of appliances, as required, with Energy Star appliances.
6. Good thermostats - not expensive & easy.
These are not necessarily my Top 5 but at a minimum I would reorder them:
1. Energy Audit (a professional like Josh suggests)
2. Seal leaks/Insulate like Russ suggests
3. Fixtures
4. Appliances
5. HVAC
6. Replace windows but only after exploring adding storms and definitely doing the first three!
Also, I think it's important for consumers to think about any project in terms of upfront cost as well as _payback periods_. Just listing costs here is a bit of a disservice. An energy auditor can give you great info on projected paybacks so you can get the most bang (reduced utility bills) for your buck. Find RESNET auditors here: http://www.resnet.us/directory/raters.aspx
Find my post on smart spending for energy-efficient projects here: http://www.trulia.com/blog/laura_stukel/2009/03/3500_towards_energy_effi
What are the efficiency of the windows, and heating/cooling system?
Also whether the appliances are energy star certified..(luckily I was able to say yes to most of these..) So to sum it up, it can give you an advantage in more than one way..be kind to the environment..save money on monthly utility costs, and add extra value to your home!