There are a lot of benefits to going green. One of the benefits we usually think of first is that we’d be helping out the environment. However, if you go green around your home, you can actually improve your home value and save some money in the process. We’d all like to have a little more money in our wallets at the end of the month and to have our homes be worth as much as possible. Going green can help you do that. Here are just a few ways you can go green around the home and start reaping these benefits.
Start Running Your Home on Solar Power
One of the best things you can do to turn your home green is to start using solar power. Solar power is much better for the environment, as you don’t need to run it on fossil fuels. Instead, you harness the power of the sun, a renewable energy source.
Many states around the country are starting to provide tax breaks to encourage their residents to get solar power. If you’re interested in turning to solar, you should see what sort of incentives your state offers.You should also check to make sure your home is suitable for solar power. You’ll need an area outside your home that is exposed to a large amount of sunlight each day. So, if your home is surrounded by trees, solar panels might not work for you.
To learn more about the benefits of solar power for your home you can check out this article.
Install Energy Saving Appliances
Next, look into installing energy saving appliances around your home. If it’s been a while since you’ve upgraded things like your dishwasher, refrigerator, washing machine or dryer, chances are they are consuming a large amount of energy. Replacing them with more energy-efficient models will help to lower your monthly costs around the home.
However, if your appliances are rather new, you probably won’t want to replace them. The energy savings from a model that is a few years old to a more recent one will be negligible. You’re better off saving that money and putting it towards other green initiatives. This guide can help you decide if you should replace your current appliances with more energy-efficient ones.
Compost Your Waste
If you’re looking to go even further with your green initiatives, consider composting your food wastes. Each year we all throw away scraps of food that we could be turning into something useful. By composting your waste, you are creating a great fertilizer, which you can then use to grow fruits and vegetables around your home.
Composting your waste isn’t as easy as tossing your leftover food into a bucket however. You’ll want to do it right so that you end up with great fertilizer. This guide can help you to get started. It includes the stuff you’ll need, along with the process you should follow to properly compost your food waste. Composting isn’t the cleanest of green choices, but it does provide some great benefits, so look into if it’s something you want to do.
Other Green Practices
If you do all of the above you’ll be well on your way to have an energy-efficient and green home. However, there’s still more you can do. Some simple things are – only running the dishwasher when it’s full, taking short showers instead of baths, and adjusting the temperature of your home so that your furnace and AC unit don’t turn on as often. Small things go a long way, so consider making some small changes around your home.
Benefits of an Increased Home Value
If you install solar panels around your home, and put in some new energy-efficient appliances, your home value will go up. While this may not seem important now, it will pay off down the road. For instance, you’ll want your home to be worth as much as possible when it comes time to sell. Or, if you decide to get a reverse mortgage, the value of your home could impact the interest on the loan.
Increasing your home value isn’t something you can do over night. It takes time and planning, so you’ll want to get started as soon as you can. Green initiatives are a great place to start, not only because they can improve your home value, but because they can help to save you money as well. Hopefully this article was able to provide you some insight on how to do that, and before long your expenses will be dropping, your home value increasing, and the world will be a little bit healthier from your efforts.