Everybody likes to save money! One of the best ways to save money in your home is to improve efficiency and reduce your home’s carbon footprint. At Tashman Home Center, we help homeowners, apartment renters and condo owners just like you save money by helping make their homes more efficient.
Here are six suggestions (some of which we’ve mentioned before) that don’t require a contractor (given your DIY capabilities) or a building permit, but a reminder never hurts when it comes to saving money!
1. Weatherize Your Windows
Weatherizing your windows will seal in climate controlled air. This prevents drafts from heating or chilling your home when the temperature outside reaches highs and lows. We sell a variety of products at Tashman that will help you weatherize your home, including:
- Weather stripping. Weather stripping is a strip of foam that seals gaps between windows and doors. It comes in different widths for gaps of different sizes. Applying weather stripping around drafty windows will help seal the air around windows.
- Caulking. Caulking around old, loose window panes will help prevent more drafts.
- Window film insulation. Window film insulation protects your windows from hot summer sun and cold winter air, preventing the glass from heating up or becoming cold on the inside of your home.
To see some of these products in action, we’ve posted a clip from a daytime talk show. We chose this video specifically because the first minute and a half features grown adults acting a bit…foolish. Plus, watching this video might help you win an all expense paid trip to Mexico.
2. Replace Your Front Door
An old front door can contribute to inefficiency just as much as old windows. Replacing your old front door can keep out drafts and reduce your dependency on your home’s HVAC system. At Tashman Home Center, we carry a variety of doors to meet the needs of our customers. You can install your own front door, if you’re handy, or just use Tashman’s expert window and door installers because our crew’s are installation experts. If you’d prefer to DIY, check out this video!
3. Replace Your Light Bulbs
This is one of the simplest ways that you can improve your home’s energy efficiency is to replace your home’s incandescent light bulbs with ENERGY STAR rated LED Lighting. ENERGY STAR estimates that you can save between $30 and $80 by replacing just one bulb, so imagine how much money you could save by replacing all your home’s bulbs!
4. Install Faucet Aerators
Installing faucet aerators is another way that you can make your home more efficient. Water aerators aerate the water and slow your water usage at each faucet. Installing an aerator is also really satisfying because only it takes about 10 seconds to put a new aerator on an old faucet. With only a few minutes of effort, you’ll reduce water usage in your faucets by about 30%.
5. Turn Off Electrical Items When Not In Use
People tend to leave electronics and appliances plugged in and running when they’re not even in use. Turning off items like computer monitors when they’re not in use can help save energy and reduce your home’s utility bills.
6. Install Solar Powered Exterior LED Lights
Exterior lights can help make your home safe and attractive in the dark, but hard wired exterior lights will use electricity and inflate your utility bills. To save money and energy, install solar powered exterior LED lights. These lights run on batteries that are recharged during daylight hours.
Tashman Home Center
As your neighborhood home improvement store, Tashman Home Center, is the place to head to for the above mentioned items or anything you might need to help you improve your home’s efficiency. Tashman Home Center’s Hardware Store is now open every day to better serve you or shop on line at TashmanHomeCenter.com, because we carry it all, from light fixtures to paint brushes, cleaning products and more. We have a knowledgeable and friendly staff and we’re always happy to help in any way we can!
