Tips to make an energy efficient home

These days, there are dozens of changes in order to make an energy efficient home. As custom builders in Arizona, we’ve explored all the options and stay on top of new developments in energy efficiency. Let’s start at the top and work our way down.

• Roofing — these days, roofing manufacturers are making all kinds of roofing tiles and products that are energy efficient, reflect heat or cold, are more durable with longer life spans, made of recycled materials, and with even more beautiful choices. The latest thing is stone-coated metal roofing that literally lasts for a lifetime, is super durable and highly energy efficient.
• Insulation — while more expensive than fiberglass insulation that comes in sheets, blown in insulation is sprayed on and expands to 10 times its size to fill all the cracks and crevices, making it much more efficient at keeping the heat or cold in.
• Building materials — with so much emphasis on recycled materials, more and more manufacturers and custom home building are either repurposing materials or incorporating recycled materials into new products.
• Windows — the days of single pane windows with aluminum framing are gone. Now double or triple pane windows with reflective coatings and heat/cold resistant framing are much more energy efficient.
• Heating and Cooling — for cooler climates, heat pumps that tap deep into the earth to harness the heat beneath the earth’s crust are becoming more popular. For any climate, energy efficient heat and air conditioners are available throughout the marketplace.
• Appliances — there are dozens of appliances that are energy efficient, from washers and dryers refrigerators and freezers and many more. You can visit the Energy Star website at http://www.energystar.gov/products/certified-products to discover more about appliances as well as other Energy Star rated products.
• Lighting — the new LED bulbs are not only more energy efficient, but also produce no heat, making them perfect for kitchen and bathroom remodels in Arizona.
• Solar — solar energy roof top panels can be used to reduce the cost of utility bills.
• Water — normal water heaters waste a lot of energy by constantly keeping water at a set temperature. On demand water heaters provide hot water as needed, but don’t waste energy keeping it hot. Then there are solar water heaters, which rely on the energy to the sun to produce hot water. Other ways to save water are to use low flow showers and toilets.

If you are contemplating a room remodel, bathroom or kitchen remodel, or a new build in Arizona, Arlington Custom Builders knows all the tricks to make your home as energy efficient as possible.