With our energy efficient lines of products, Quality First is here to remodel your domicile into an energy efficient home that you can be proud of. Save money and help the planet by making your home more energy efficient!
Ways To Make Your Home Energy Efficient
The first step is the simplest: call Quality First (or your chosen professionals) to see what improvements are being offered. We can figure out your home’s potential with an energy audit and come up with a variety of tips for replacing less efficient products.
Do An Energy Audit
Included with our assessment of your home, your Quality First salesperson will help you with an energy audit. This includes looking at your utility bill and measuring your energy use. Once you know the patterns for home energy usage, we can help you calculate how the energy costs will decrease with our various products.
Many products will allow you to perform routine audits on your own, often with the help of a smartphone. You’ll be able to monitor your energy use over time to maintain a standard of efficiency you can be proud of.
Windows and Doors
Energy star products, such as the ProVia windows and doors we install, have been tested meticulously to ensure they perform to the best of standards. They save energy and save you money!
Energy efficient windows are incredibly important. One of the most important features of the window is, without a doubt, the “U-Factor.” The EPA finalized new regulations in late October 2022 for Energy Star 7.0, which are set for implementation in October 2023. (There’s a great rundown of the information here.)
For the U-Factor, you want to see as low a number as possible in the 0.2-0.3 range. The ProVia website does provide a tool that will let you find your energy efficiency statistics based on the details of your product.
We’ve written extensively about windows on our blog before, focusing on the products we carry, on types of glass, and more. To learn more about windows, try clicking over here.
Heating and Cooling: HVAC
Remember, HVAC stands for “heating, ventilation, and air cooling.” This includes everything from your heater to your air conditioner — though it does technically exclude your water heater. (When it comes to those, we recommend looking for Energy Star hot water heaters for reliability.)
Heating your home in the winter is important, while cooling the air in the summer is paramount. Your heating and cooling system can work in tandem with insulation to prevent any one thing from working too hard.
Make Your Home’s Energy Efficiency Glow Up With Solar
Installing solar panels is a surefire way to increase efficiency in your home. Even in winter, with fewer hours of daylight, these panels can still maintain an impressive charge to power your home — both lighting and appliances.
You have the power to let solar energy change your life. Innovation is just around the corner with our products from both Mission Solar, who makes everything of theirs in America, as well as Enphase, which is a bit more global.
Insulation Will Keep Your Savings Cool
Tex-Cote COOLWALL systems are a type of heat-reflective paint that can reduce your monthly energy cost by allowing your air conditioning system to work smarter, not harder. Whether it’s an old home that needs a new coat of paint or a new home that needs an even newer look, Tex-Cote is the way to go to make that warm temperature bearable.
Meanwhile, when the heat of the summer fades away, your first thought may be to bundle up in warm clothes. Good insulation for your home will keep the heat in, causing the bill for your AC to decrease and allowing you to dress comfortably no matter the time of year.
The Advantage To Smart Devices
Improve your home’s energy usage by replacing your old thermostat with a smart thermostat! Other appliance upgrades can save you a pretty penny, too.
Whether you want a smart air purifier to improve the air quality in your home or you’re concerned with your home security and want to focus on cameras for your exterior doors, upfront costs can be off-putting.
Just remember that the cost can be much less significant when you compare it to the savings! Sometimes you have to spend money to save money.
Consider LED Light Bulbs
If you’re keeping those Christmas lights up a little longer than usual, keep in mind that you can always buy a timer to turn them on once the sun goes down.
As the year begins to pick up, we’ll have fewer hours of darkness in the first place, so you’ll probably be leaving them on less often in the first place. Make sure to replace incandescent light bulbs with LED lights to save energy as well!
An energy efficient home is one that doesn’t have to worry about painful electricity bills.
Cover That Patio
A patio cover may not seem like a surefire way to reduce your energy costs, but in actuality, your home will be the better for it. Its utility is simple: like insultation, it can reduce the need for air conditioning.
It all comes back to heating and cooling, doesn’t it? This isn’t a bad thing, though! It means you have a clear path towards being able to make your home energy efficient.
While you may keep appliances on a large outdoor patio and use electricity, consider offsetting the cost of those devices by switching to solar.
One more thing about patio covers: people are more likely to notice a house with nice upgrades. Make your home more beautiful and, by extension, increase the value and equity.
Heating and Cooling 2: Return of the Air Conditioner
Let’s teach you a term really quickly: “SEER”. It stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, and the higher the number, the better. We offer 16- and 18-SEER products designed with home energy efficiency in mind, which will save you money in the short and the long term.
It Could Make A Huge Difference
Audit your appliances, check out your home’s biggest offenders, and then look over this list of tips to see if any improvements require your attention. Routing maintenance of your household can be beneficial as well, since you’ll be able to stay two steps ahead of Murphy’s Law.
An Energy Efficient Home Is A Happy Home
Don’t get caught in hot water over your next utility bill. Let’s be honest, if you use energy more efficiently, your wallet will be happy and, by extension, so will your family.
Home Improvement Energy Efficiency Is Easy
Quality First specializes in roofing, windows, HVAC, solar, and more. All of our products focus on energy efficiency, so you can be sure any project with us is a good investment.
Contact us to schedule an appointment for a free estimate, or follow and like us on social media to keep up-to-date on new services and offers.
Quality First is local to Sacramento, Concord, and San Jose in California, as well as Reno, Nevada.
