If you’re planning to sell your home soon, you might be wondering about improvements you can make to increase the value of your house. There are plenty of different home improvement options to consider, but with increasing attention on the effects of climate change, there’s a growing interest in focusing on innovative and green home improvements.
Here, we’ll outline several green and energy-efficient home improvement options that will make your home more sustainable and valuable to potential buyers.
Some you’ll be able to DIY, some you could DIY if you invest in some training and the right machinery (like a polyurethane foam spray machine or some specialized plumbing equipment), and some are best left to the professionals.
Not every green improvement needs to break the bank, and even small improvements, like air sealing, can make a difference on your bills and look attractive to potential buyers.
The trick is to know which improvements are going to catch the interest of home buyers and to know that, you’ll need to start with some professional advice.
Check with the Professionals
Before investing your money, energy and time on upgrades to make your house more valuable, consult with people who know what improvements and renovations are most sought after or have the highest return on investment.
A professional will know what is going on in your local market. So, whether you’re selling your home in Hamilton or Whitehorse, if you want to know what features will be most desired in your area, talk to local real estate agent to find out.
Get the Green Building Project Checklist
Use this handy checklist on your next project to keep track of all the ways you can make your home more energy-efficient and sustainable.
Windows and Doors
According to the National Association of Home Builders, 89 percent of home buyers want Energy Star rated windows, and 77 percent are after triple-glazed insulating windows.
Energy-efficient windows and doors have a myriad of benefits. They keep your energy costs low by keeping your home well insulated, they reduce the amount of noise that enters your home, and for low-e windows, they block harmful UV radiation from damaging your furnishings and they reduce heat transmission (keeping more heat in your house in the winter and keeping outside heat from entering in the summer).
Tankless Water Heater
Old, traditional water heaters hold many litres of water and are constantly heated. Their tankless siblings only heat the water when you need it, thereby limiting your energy use.
These energy-efficient water heaters also have a longer lifespan and are safer than older water heaters.
Cool Roof
Most homes have dark roofs made from non-reflective, heat-absorbing materials. While it might help keep your home warm during the winter, dark roofs heat densely populated areas and raise the ambient temperature. This can result in a “heat island” effect and increase the need for air conditioning to keep homes and people cool in the summer.
Cool roofs help prevent heat absorption by reflecting the sun’s heat away from the house, making the home more energy-efficient and a bigger draw for buyers.
Heated Floors
Let’s be honest, cold floors are the worst. Sure, you can wear socks or slippers to combat the chill on your feet, but even with this measure, a cold floor just makes your home feel colder.
Installing heated floors not only allows you to keep your feet cozy and warm but also increases your energy savings.
When the floor is warm and toasty, people tend to keep their thermostats lower, especially at night. Heated floors are a big draw for potential buyers for the comfort and energy efficiency they provide.
HVAC System
It’s a costly upgrade, but the savings to your energy bills and increase to your home’s value can make upgrading your HVAC system worth it.
An HVAC system upgrade has the greatest return on investment in terms of energy efficient upgrades. Cooling and heating your home are the biggest costs on an energy bill. If your system is more than 10 years old, replacing your current system can save on average 30 percent on your energy bill.
When replacing these systems, look for a minimum SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) value of 15, in addition to Energy Star ratings. The greater your SEER rating, the more money and energy you will end up saving.
Even better than putting in a new furnace is installing a heat pump. With an efficiency ratio of 300 to 400% they reduce energy consumption significantly, saving you a lot of money.
Insulation
You might not think it’s the most thrilling upgrade, but investing in your home’s insulation can have positive impacts on your home’s value and your energy bills.
Adding insulation is one of the greatest things you can do to increase your home’s energy efficiency. On average, homeowners can save anywhere from 10 to 50 percent on heating and cooling costs by properly insulating their homes. This translates to hundreds or even thousands of dollars in savings annually, making insulation one of the most cost-effective ways to improve energy efficiency and reduce utility bills.
While there are many home improvements options to make, it makes sense to focus on the ones that will get you a higher return on your investment. To get that, look for improvements that are sought after by buyers. With environmental impact being a significant purchasing factor for many people, green home improvement options fall in the high ROI category.
Feature image: Kindel Media; Image 1: Max Vakhtbovych
A caveat … a ‘tankless’ water heater for domestic hot water does indeed bypass the energy loss when ‘storing’ DHW in a large tank. However, it is an appliance that has a fixed number of start sequences. It’s the consumer’s pattern of usage that is often problematic. Consider how the end user might rinse dishes, turning hot water on and off every few seconds. Each time, the flow switch opens / closes to start / stop the the ignition sequence. Longevity is greatly reduced in that fashion. Perhaps the thermal battery plays a major role here for DHW.