The internet is awash with ideas about energy-saving upgrades that will also help you save money. Many of these are simple and effective. Many of these ideas sound logical, but don’t actually add up to great savings, either in energy or cash. And many really depend more on how you use them than on the upgrade itself. So which upgrades are worth it?
What’s “worth it” will depend on a lot of individual factors. We’ve assessed some common upgrades based on whether they provide significant, measurable energy reductions (according to experts), and whether households could immediately start saving money and even see a return on their investment within a few years.
Energy-Saving Upgrades That Pay for Themselves Fast
Caulking
A tube of caulking is not a sexy, high-end upgrade, but it is a technology that pays for itself in spades. It costs somewhere in the $5 to $15 range and doesn’t need professionals to apply it. Energy.gov estimates that caulking and sealing air leaks around doors, windows and other openings could save you 10-20% on your energy bills. An excellent return on investment.
LED Lights
LED lightbulbs are still more expensive than their counterparts, costing approximately $5 per bulb, depending on retailer. The expense justifies itself in two ways, though – first, in the number of lightbulbs you now will not have to buy in the future and secondly, in the amount of energy they save.
Holly Johnson at The Simple Dollar calculates that because LEDs last so long, every one LED lightbulb you buy takes the place of 21 incandescent bulbs, or 3 compact fluorescents. These lights also use between 25 and 80% less energy than incandescent bulbs, according to Energy.gov. It argues that even replacing your “five most frequently used” lightbulbs and fixtures with ENERGY STAR rated LEDs can save you $75 per year.
A Clothesline and/or Drying Rack
This is a simple, time-honoured gadget that tends to be forgotten in lists of eco-friendly home upgrades. These can range in cost from $10 to a few hundred dollars, and with our beloved Canadian seasons, it’s likely to be more convenient to have both a clothesline for outside and an indoor drying rack.
According to Saving Electricity, clothes dryers are responsible for 12% of the electricity used by the average household. They calculate the average cost of running an electric dryer at $193 per year, with gas dryers coming in at $132. So even if you don’t use your clothesline every single time you do laundry, even a more expensive model will pay for itself in short order.
Insulation
Another not very sexy upgrade that will pay itself off is insulation. Megan Sullivan at HomeStars estimates the cost of fibreglass batt insulation to be $0.12-$0.60 per square foot, with blown-in insulation costing $0.65-$1.00 per square foot and spray foam coming in at $0.44-$1.00 per square foot.
Given that floors, walls and ceilings are responsible for the majority of heat loss in the home (31% of the air leaks in the average home, says Hydro One), making sure your walls, floors and attic are properly insulated is an upgrade that makes good financial sense. According to the EPA, adding insulation will save you 11% on your energy bills.
Energy-Saving Upgrades That Might Pay Off
Programmable and Smart Thermostats
Natural Resources Canada states that heating makes up “63 percent of Canada’s residential energy use.” Programmable and smart thermostats promise big reductions in that energy use, but before you buy one, remember that it’s not the programmable thermostat itself that saves energy – it’s adjusting temperatures in your home.
ENERGY STAR suggests that claims of programmable thermostats saving 10 – 30% on heating and cooling energy could be truer in theory than practice. A household that already manually sets their thermostat back at night and when no one’s home might not see a real difference in their energy usage. A household that forgets to set the thermostat back and often heats an empty home would obviously save much more.
A programmable thermostat will cost a few hundred dollars, with an even higher price point for smart thermostats. Consider your own energy behaviours as you decide if this technology will make a difference in your home.
Smart Power Strips
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) states that vampire loads can account for “nearly 10% of household electricity use.” Smart, or advanced, power strips cut power off at the source when they detect a device isn’t in use. The average price for these is about $30, according to NREL.
Research by the NMR Group compared several studies of the energy savings from advanced power strips and found a range of energy savings between 79 and 386 kWh. If you have few electronics and already unplug them, a smart power strip will obviously make less of a difference. If you tend to forget to turn things off, or have multiple home offices with many devices, you might easily recoup that $30.
Energy-Saving Upgrades That Might Not Pay Off Anytime Soon
New Windows
Replacing old windows isn’t the energy saving masterstroke that window companies would have us believe. It’s not that new windows aren’t more energy efficient, but that the amount of energy and money you would save by replacing old windows won’t pay for your new ones for a long time to come.
Measures like caulking and sealing, applying window film, installing storm windows or replacing single-pane glass inserts with more energy-efficient glass are excellent ways to make your original windows energy-efficient without the high cost outlay.
ENERGY STAR Certified Appliances
ENERGY STAR rated appliances are a gold standard in terms of efficiency. They save 10-50% of energy costs when compared to non-certified models, according to Matt Daigle of Rise. If you’re planning on replacing a worn-out appliance, these are a fantastic option.
That said, you’ll often read that upgrading all your existing appliances with ENERGY STAR models is a good energy-saving investment. Any major appliance is expensive, however, meaning the energy savings need to be significant in order to make the math work.
Replacing your 40 year old chest freezer with an ENERGY STAR rated freezer could be well worth the money in terms of the energy it will save. Replacing a 5 year old dryer that works fine, however, is a less solid investment. ENERGY STAR dryers use 20% less energy than non-rated models, but figuring that dryers account for 12% of household electricity use, it will take a while to recoup the cost of that dryer. Certainly longer than it will take to recoup the cost of that clothesline.
When planning your energy-saving upgrades, be savvy, always do your research and consider what will make the biggest impact in your home. You might be just a simple tube of caulking away from a more energy-efficient home.
Feature image: La Miko; Image 1: Dan LeFebvre
Very excellent and useful