5 Steps to an efficient home
Rising prices, unstable utility supply and climate change concerns have homeowners assessing their homes and looking for ways to improve efficiency.
There are many options available to homeowners looking to bring down monthly costs, protect against utility outages and make a real difference to the environment. While the options may appear overwhelming, focusing on 5 key steps will help you manage your journey to increased efficiency.
- Geyser efficiency: Water heating accounts for up to 40% of the average home’s electricity bill, making it the best place to start on an efficiency drive. Options in this area include adding a geyser blanket, using less hot water, reducing the temperature, implementing a heating schedule or adding a smart geyser device for easy monitoring and management from your smartphone.
- Power efficiency: With the geyser taken care of, it’s time to look at how electricity is used within your home. Pay particular attention to where you are wasting electricity, as savings in this area won’t impact your lifestyle. Once this is done, look at ways to reduce your electricity bill through behavioural changes and upgrades to energy-efficient lightbulbs, appliances and devices.
- Water efficiency: Water scarcity is becoming a real problem for homeowners resulting in restrictions, outages and escalating prices. Keeping your water bill manageable requires cutting out wastage, reducing household consumption and considering rainwater harvesting for your home’s needs.
- Power management: A home efficiency plan is not complete without addressing the impact of loadshedding and power outages on the household. Surge protection is essential to protect your appliances and electronics from damage, and securing some form of backup power supply is becoming a necessity for most families.
- Solar energy: The move to renewable energy is not just for government and businesses, it holds many benefits for homeowners too. Whether you’re looking at going completely off the grid or a hybrid solar system with a backup electricity supply from your municipality or Eskom, a solar investment pays for itself within years and is far kinder to the environment.
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