The Benefits of Making Your House Energy Efficient

Looking to sell your home? In today’s declining housing market, home owners are constantly looking for ways to increase the value of their home while saving money. Increasing your home’s energy efficiency can increase your home’s values and make it much more marketable.

Home values in the economic slump are constantly decreasing on a daily basis. While shopping for a new home, many prospective buyers will examine closely the utility bills of prospective homes.

Here are some ways to make your home more energy efficient:

• Perform an energy audit to asses how much energy your home is using on a daily basis.
• Update your appliances to Energy Star certified units.
• Replace at least half of your light bulbs in your home with fluorescents and possibly decrease your light bills by 50 percent.
• Update windows, insulation, and siding or anything that may affect your energy costs in your home.

The benefits of increasing your home’s efficiency can significantly increase the value of your home. An EPA study shows that a home’s value increases $20 for every $1 reduction in the average annual utility bill.

Real estate prices fluctuate with the economy. Currently, the economy is down and so is real estate. If you have made the decision to sell your property you will want to consider energy saving improvements to make your home more attractive and edge out the competition who are also trying to sell.