Whether you are building a brand new house or remodeling your current abode, taking energy efficiency into consideration is something you may want to keep in mind. Contrary to popular belief, having an energy efficient home does not automatically mean a huge upfront investment – you can improve the way that your house uses energy in a cost efficient way. There are various ways and many folks concentrate only on the inside of their homes. The exterior of your home shouldn’t be neglected and that’s what we’re going to focus on.

Insulated Siding

When it comes to energy efficiency, adding insulation is the most affordable upgrade that can be done to your home. With good insulation, there will be an immediate return on the money spent. Siding assists your home’s insulation in the task of indoor temperature retention, and helps keep outside air and thermal energy out. If your siding is old, damaged, or simply not a high enough quality, you can get a lot of benefit from siding replacement. Most exterior walls have insulation in between the wall studs, but allow significant energy loss through the studs themselves, which are poor insulators. This is called thermal bridging. Insulated siding improves energy efficiency by reducing thermal bridging—like a blanket, it is continuous insulation over the studs, which helps homes stay cool in summer and warm in winter. To emphasize the importance of proper insulation let’s just say that wall studs account for up to 25 percent of every wall, which is like having an entire side of the house uninsulated.

A solid roof.

Your roof plays a major part in the overall “envelope” of your home. If your roof is in good condition, well-insulated, and of a high quality, you’ll likely see some good energy savings. This is particularly noticeable in the colder months.

Lifetime aluminum metal roofing should rank very high on the priority list for an energy efficient home. These roofs have very high reflectivity, which equates to high energy savings during the summer months. These energy star rated roofs can save as much as 30% on energy as it relates to cooling costs. Additionally it’s considered to be among the most long lasting sustainable roofs available. In fact there are aluminum roofs that are well over 100 years old in the USA.

Calculate your return on investment

Despite substantial up-front costs, energy efficiency investments are among the surest outlays you can make. Modernizing a building for example can generate energy savings of 5 to 15% and typically pay for itself in less than three years, according to Natural Resources Canada.

If you find yourself in a need for some more advice on this topic or searching for someone who can make your house save you some money then fell free to give us a call.