How to Make Your Home Greener

Being ‘green’ is about saving money on your heating expenses and other utility bills. It’s about using less energy. It’s about helping to protect the environment.

More and more people every year are choosing to go ‘greener’ within their home. There are plenty of things you can do to help make your home be truly greener, from replacing an old, outdated furnace or other heating system, installing energy efficient light bulbs and light fixtures, and even considering replacing your old, drafty windows and doors.

Keep in mind that 40 percent of your home’s heat is going to be lost during the winter through old, drafty windows and doors. That’s a lot of heat your heating system is trying to generate during the winter.

If you have a moment, open your purse, wallet, or bank statement and see whatever you have in there at the moment. If you have $100 in your wallet, for example, take $40 out, crumple it up, and throw it in the garbage.

Now, in reality, you wouldn’t even think about doing that, right? Of course not. However, if you ignore the impact your old, drafty windows and doors are having on your budget and expenses during the winter, it’s not much different.

The only real difference is instead of $40 being thrown out, you could be throwing away $400, $1,000, or even more. It all depends on many factors, including the size of the house, your ideal ambient temperature you set your thermostat, and more.

When you waste all of that energy, all of the energy efficient appliances and other steps you take to be more environmentally conscious do little to counter drafty windows and doors.

If you truly want to go ‘greener this year, consider replacement, high quality, energy-efficient windows and doors as a great investment in your home.