How can you improve the energy efficiency of your home?

What do we mean by the energy efficiency of a home?

When we talk about home energy efficiency, we’re actually referring to a concept that’s rooted in economics. Essentially, the greater the energy efficiency of your home, the lower your energy consumption will be to heat and power your home at the level you’re accustomed to. This is closely linked to how your home power systems operate and how energy efficient each and every component of the system is.

For your home, and for power systems in buildings in general, increasing energy efficiency is tied to reducing your energy consumption. In reality, this means using power more efficiently, while reducing the cost of this power (which could be used for heating your home or other buildings, powering them with electricity, heating hot water for the home or building, and so on).

Reducing your energy consumption reduces the cost of your energy bills and is also vital for saving the environment. Reducing your energy consumption will reduce your greenhouse gas emissions, which is key to stopping and reversing climate change globally. Reducing our energy consumption is a crucial step we can all take at home to do our bit for the environment.

So, how do we go about increasing our home energy efficiency?

Home energy efficiency: attic, wall and window insulation to limit energy loss

Before you crank up your heating in cold weather, you should first think about limiting energy loss from your home so as not to waste the heating power you’re already using. The better your home heating efficiency, the better you can warm your home without using excess power.

Up to 30% of heating in your home can escape through the roof of the building, so it's important to insulate your home well to improve its energy efficiency. There are a wide range of insulation options out there to suit the design of your home, your home insulation budget and your preferences in terms of increasing energy efficiency and protecting the environment.

After improving your energy efficiency by insulating your roof, focus on other key points of heat energy loss in your home: the doors and windows in the building. As with the roof of the home, you’ll have a wide choice of insulation options to boost your energy efficiency and bring down your heating costs.

Installing energy efficient insulation will allow you to use your heating power as effectively as possible. Once you’ve completed this energy efficient step, next focus on your home heating system.

Efficient heating and home hot water systems

Much of your home energy costs will be related to heating the home and providing it with hot water. In fact, your use of power in your home heating and hot water systems can amount to 80-90% of your total home energy costs!

So, making changes to improve the energy efficiency of the heating and hot water systems in your home is vital to boosting your energy efficiency in general, as well as reducing your home energy costs.

The difference in efficiency and costs between low energy efficiency home heating and hot water systems - that consume a lot of energy, while producing little actual heating and hot water for the home - and high energy efficiency systems - that consume lower levels of energy, while effectively producing heating and hot water for the home - is vast.

Choosing the right heating and hot water systems for your home is vital to reducing both your home energy costs and reducing your home carbon footprint.

After insulating your home well, making smart, energy efficient choices for your heating and hot water systems is key to increasing your energy efficiency at home.

Which heating and hot water systems are best for energy efficiency in your home?

Here are some key tips for choosing the most energy efficient home heating and hot water systems:

• Choose systems that are less than 15 years old
• Choose a heating system that is low cost to purchase and maintain
• Choose a boiler, heated floor or heat pump that suits your home energy efficiency needs
• Choose energy efficient and advanced technology solutions to lower your power use and costs
• Choose renewable energy options, such as solar power, rather than fossil fuel power
• Choose more energy efficient devices, such as condensing boilers rather than traditional boilers

In order to install these devices in your home, you will incur some upfront costs. However, you’ll save on spending on your home power following the installation of these energy efficient devices, as they’ll use less power to produce the same level of heating and hot water for the home.

Install a smart thermostat to improve your home energy efficiency

A thermostat allows you to better control and adjust your home heating so you only use as much heating power as you need to make your home comfortable.

Thermostats are a key asset for improving your home energy efficiency and to reduce your heating costs.

Key tips for home energy efficiency

There are simple changes every home can make to boost energy efficiency:

• Improve insulation to use heating power optimally
• Reduce your power consumption, especially for home heating and hot water
• Turn off heating when you’re away from home
• Invest in energy efficient home heating and hot water devices
• Keep your heating and hot water devices maintained and updated

Optimising your home energy efficiency is vital for bringing your home power costs down, as well as reducing your environmental impact. It’s a win win!