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What Is An Energy Efficient Home | Solar Energy Boise

Whether someone is looking to lower their carbon footprint and better the environment, or they are just looking to save some money, having an energy efficient home has many advantages. Click here to read up on the benefits of solar panels, for example.

Utilities

Energy efficient homeowners benefit from lower utility bills and may even qualify for additional tax incentives. If someone is purchasing a new home or remodeling an existing property, it would benefit them greatly to understand what makes a home energy efficient and how they can improve the efficiency of their home.

Energy Score

The Department of Energy has simplified the process of grading a house’s energy efficiency by introducing the home energy score. This simple assessment takes fifteen minutes and offers homeowners a score between one and ten. This score is based on the major factors that affect a home’s overall efficiency.

These factors are: walls and insulation, heating, cooling, and hot water. The most energy efficient homes will be closer to a 10, while homes that need improvement will be on the lower end of the scale.

While it may be disappointing for a homeowner to receive a less than exemplary energy score, there are many easy ways to improve a home’s efficiency. These improvements will be outlined in the home energy score report.

This report is given to the homeowner along with the home energy score. The home energy report not only offers suggestions for improving efficiency, but it provides an estimate of the energy score improvement that can be achieved if the homeowner makes the suggested changes. These can range from adding shade trees to a property to re-insulating the entire home.

With so many advantages, energy efficient home ownership is a trend that continues to grow. Whether someone is looking to buy a new home or refinance an old one, it would be a smart move to look into getting an energy audit and taking the results into account.