Do you have any resolutions for the New Year?
Are you ready to leave 2017 behind and ring in the New Year? Did you accomplish everything you wanted to accomplish over the past year? While you’re contemplating your personal resolutions for 2018, consider setting some home improvement goals.
Here are some examples of positive changes you can make around your home that can help make you happier, healthier and more content.
- Lower energy use. You can make little adjustments here and there to make sure that you are using the least amount of energy possible. Lowering energy use may be as simple as turning off the lights when you aren’t in the room, or unplugging things when you aren’t using them. There are also some big changes you can make that can have a major impact on how much energy you consume during the year. Here are a few:
- Replace older windows with new, energy-efficient windows.
- Invest in a high-SEER air conditioner or high-AFUE gas furnace.
- Lower utility bill spending. This resolution goes hand-in-hand with the previous one. Your heating and air conditioning equipment makes up about 60% of your utility costs (on average). If you make some adjustments to how you operate your HVAC equipment, you could see major savings on your bills – like turning down your thermostat a few degrees during the winter and up during the summer, sealing windows and doors to prevent drafts and investing in a programmable thermostat for customized comfort. Here are some smaller changes you can make around your house to lower your utility bills.
- Remember to turn off lights when you leave a room.
- Invest in a timer for your Christmas lights.
- Avoid using space heaters for supplemental heating during the winter.
- Improve indoor air quality. You spend a lot of time indoors – especially during the peak cooling and heating seasons. You want to make sure that the air you breathe in is as healthy as possible. Unfortunately, this is not as easy as it may seem. Did you know that your indoor air is often more polluted than the outdoor air? here are some things you can do to make that fact not apply to your home.
- Invest in IAQ products like a whole-home air cleaner or UV light system.
- Set a reminder to change your furnace filter every month.
- Invest in a filter with higher filtration power – like a HEPA-grade filter.
Are you adding any of these to your home to-do list? You can start by calling your local contractor and scheduling a consultation for that new high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment.