If you are planning a home renovation, or in the middle of one, then it’s a great time to make some money-saving improvements. Adding a room to your home, or renovating a space, can be expensive and stressful. But, you should take advantage of this time to make real updates to the efficiency of your home. Over time, these improvements will pay for themselves. They may even pay for those renovations.

Add Insulation

Old insulation breaks down and can shift out of place. This leads to drafty areas that require more energy to heat or cool. If you are taking down drywall or moving walls, it is the optimal time to refresh that old insulation. Some types, like spray foam insulation Maryland, can even be added to existing walls without completely opening them. Remember to insulate the attic as well as the basement; these areas make a big difference.

Create Zones

This is done with a zoned HVAC system. Zoned systems use one HVAC unit to regulate multiple zones of your home. This is more efficient because you can heat or cool only the section of the house that you are in at that time. If one zone is by the bedrooms, that zone would function more at night than during the day. Whereas the zone controlling common areas would operate during the day and much less at night. If installing a new HVAC system is not in the scope of your current renovation, then consider adding programmable thermostats. These allow you to set the temperature of your home at different levels throughout the day. At night, or when the house is not being used, energy can be saved.

Reduce Air Leakage

Air from outside is going to leak in and out of your home. In the winter, this leads to cold drafts. In the summer, leaks let the cool air escape from your home. Although all homes will have some leaks, you can reduce a lot of them with some time and a little cash. Install weather stripping around windows or add storm panels. Flexible weather stripping can be added to the bottom of your doors to keep out the drafts. There are also many types of foam gaskets available to place behind wall switches and outlets. Anyplace that you feel a draft, try to stop the air leak.

There are a lot of things to think about when renovating your home. Home efficiency should be high on that list. These types of upgrades are easier and sometimes cheaper to do when other renovations are taking place. Do not miss the opportunity to reduce your energy bill and make your renovations pay off.