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Home energy efficiency – the new decision factor when buying or renting in Denver
Deciding on buying, selling, or renting houses or condominiums is always complicated. Establishing the home's value is usually a complex calculation. However, it is often based mainly on simple factors such as location, square footage, number of Bedrooms and bathrooms, or the year the house was built. The price of the home or condominium should reflect its current condition, which is often the result of upgrades to the house's interior design or amenities. However, when viewing a place they're thinking of buying or renting, only some people investigate the hidden facts of the building - the condition of the services system and whether or not they have been replaced with energy-efficient solutions. Energy consumption determines the long-term cost of living inside the house. As the prices for electricity and gas continue to go up each year, it is becoming more critical than ever to reduce it as much as possible.
Comparing bills to determine the cost-efficiency of provider
The first step towards managing any situation is analyzing its current condition and primary facts. Regarding a house's consumption, that condition is best described by recent utility bills. Many people may not clearly understand what a Kilowatt/hour is or does – apart from the fact that it's a unit of energy – but we all understand costs. For instance, when looking at the "Electric Power Monthly" report released on October 24th by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), we can easily understand that the overall average electricity prices (cents per Kilowatt/hour) for the residential sector have increased since last year. When looking at a house you're thinking of buying (or renting) or deciding to improve your home, the first step is to look at the energy costs. However, bills indicate your house's monthly or yearly energy cost, not the average gas and electricity cost for the area where the home is located. To determine the cost-efficiency of the provider, there are a lot of energy comparison services available, most of them free of charge.
Ready to find your dream home in Colorado?
Let us help you. Call or Text Kenna Real Estate Group at 303-955-4220 to get personalized assistance from our expert real estate agents. Find out what your home is worth in today's market.
Switching to a new energy provider
After discovering the most cost-efficient energy provider for the area, tenants or owners may want to switch to the energy supplier. Again, this needn't be as complicated and time-consuming as most people fear. Most of the time, the newly chosen supplier will help you with all the necessary paperwork, and efforts will be minimal for the end user. The transition will only affect the final costs you pay, not the actual cables, pipes, or ducts, so switching to a more cost-effective energy supplier doesn't mean you need to renovate the house or change your lifestyle. As this is the internet era, end-users may get discounts if they opt for online billing and direct debit payments. For energy providers, it is easier, as it reduces the paperwork load. It is also easier for consumers to have the monthly payments taken from their accounts automatically. Skipping all the unnecessary paperwork is also an environmentally friendly option.
Saving even more by thinking green
Switching to the most cost-efficient supplier is great, but unlimited consumption will lead to considerable bills even under the lowest possible energy pricing schemes. To turn our house into an energy-efficient home, we must be ready to embrace environmentally responsible thinking. This means keeping all of the modern standards of comfort. We don't need to replace our home's light bulbs with candles, but changing them with energy-efficient ones will make a difference in the bills. Switching light bulbs off when we're leaving the room also helps, and that applies to all the things that silently add up to our energy bill. Significant savings can be achieved by asking ourselves simple, logical questions. Does the heating (or cooling) need to be turned on for all of the house's spaces when there's a single room occupied? Isn't it simpler (and cheaper) to just put on a sweater when it's cold or open a window early in the morning or late at night to produce natural cooling? Why consume –and pay for – energy that nobody uses?
Ready to find your dream home in Colorado?
Let us help you. Call or Text Kenna Real Estate Group at 303-955-4220 to get personalized assistance from our expert real estate agents. Find out what your home is worth in today's market.
If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Fighting phantom loads by metering
Most unpleasant surprises come from silent appliances and devices that constantly consume energy, even when unused. Energy.gov presents a simple yet eloquent example: an average combined fax machine/photocopier/printer consumes seven watts of power, day in and day out, just by plugging in. It might not seem much, but combined with the other ordinary energetic vampires we are unaware of, the overall effect is negligible. The article recommends using digital electric meters that can alert us about what is consuming unnecessary energy inside the house. Phantom loads (or leaking electricity) are standard in all buildings using electricity, and the only way to fight them is by breaking them down into simple elements that we can identify and control. Digital metering is straightforward: "Plug the meter into the wall outlet and then plug an electrical device into the meter. Push one button to display power in watts, or another button to show energy in watt-hours over a certain period, " energy expert John Lippert indicates. After the vampire loads have been identified, home energy management becomes easy: unplug the appliances or devices that are not in use.
Learn from tradition and make the most of the present day
In the end, reducing our energy bills is not rocket science. It combines traditional, reasonable thinking – like the zoning principle of lighting and heating – and the advantages of contemporary living, from comparing energy providers and detailed electric metering. Whether buying or renting a house or condominium, we do not need to pay more than we're using. With energy prices rising, it is crucial to make the most of every opportunity the digital online era offers. Credit Melissa Flanagan