Osceola County Home Inspections and Energy Costs!


Osceola Home InspectionMost people don’t know how easy it is to make their homes run on less energy, with as many homes as I see during my home inspections, I assure you.. it is important, but not often very complicated. Large scale reductions in heating, cooling and electricity costs can actually be accomplished through some pretty simple changes, and most of which can be done by the home owner. Having Buy Your Side Inspections helping you to understand what energy saving possibilities exist can offset our modest inspection fee. It’s part of what we do as we inspect your home or business.

Why make your home more energy efficient? Here are a few good reasons:

• It saves money. It costs less to power a home that has been upgraded to be much more energy-efficient.

• The overall comfort of the home, especially as we transition from season to season in Central Florida.

• Many scientists now believe that excessive energy consumption contributes significantly to global warming. Without taking a stance on that subject – saving on energy use is wise for in Central Florida as our population continues to grow – the energy utilities are being maxed out in their capabilities affecting the cost and quality of energy for Central Floridians.

• It reduces pollution. Conventional power production introduces pollutants that find their way into the air, soil and water supplies. Upgrading your energy efficiency in your home is a major plus in many ways for sure.

Find efficient ways to heat and cool your house

• As much as half of the energy used in homes goes toward heating and or cooling. Ways that energy bills can be reduced through adjustments to the heating and cooling systems are things like installing ceiling fans throughout the home and by installing a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat can often save money by allowing heating and cooling appliances to be automatically turned down during times that no one is home and at night. Programmable thermostats contain no mercury and, in some climate zones, can save up to $225.00 per year in overall energy costs.

Install a tankless water heater

Demand water heaters (tankless or instantaneous) provide hot water only as it is needed. They don’t produce the standby energy losses associated with storage water heaters, which will save on energy costs. Demand water heaters heat water directly without the use of a storage tank. Therefore, they avoid the standby heat losses required by traditional storage water heaters. When a hot water tap is turned on, cold water travels through a pipe into the unit. Either a gas burner or an electric element heats the water. As a result, demand water heaters deliver a constant supply of hot water. You don’t need to wait for a storage tank to fill up with
enough hot water.

Replace incandescent lights

• The average household dedicates 13% of its energy budget to lighting. Traditional incandescent lights convert approximately only one tenth of the energy they consume into light, while the rest becomes heat. The use of new lighting technologies, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), can reduce energy use required by lighting by 50% to 75%. The life span of these lighting technologies is much longer than traditional lighting and saves on overall replacement costs as well.

Seal and insulate your home

Sealing and insulating your home is one of the most cost-effective ways to make a home more comfortable and energy efficient -– and you can do it yourself. A tightly sealed home can improve comfort and indoor air quality while reducing utility bills. During our normal inspection we may recommend fixes that will dramatically increase your home’s comfort and can affect energy savings. Every day I find home with windows that need to be replaced and doors that need to be upgraded and replaced. I also find in older homes that there is little to no upkeep or consideration given to tightening up exterior wise with caulk and weather stripping. Older homes need attention that newer homes MAY not. So, when I make suggestions about your home’s energy use, or that your home needs some outside attention, take it seriously. It may not just help your energy costs… it may affect how long your home fends off the weather and the effects of our central florida seasons!

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