Every homeowner knows that there is a significant amount of cost involved in owning a home in Texas. And the cost doesn’t end after you purchase the house of your dreams. With property taxes, utility bills, homeowners’ association fees, buying furniture and decor, and even the occasional repair; owning a home can be expensive.
Then there’s also the matter of utility bills. From gas, to water, to electricity, you have to monitor your activity at home so you don’t end up going beyond your budget for utilities.
There’s a simple reason why many homeowners are still inefficient when it comes to energy consumption. The main reason is that homeowners often neglect to calculate their energy consumption when planning to build a house. Even those who consider themselves as experts in home improvement often ignore this very important factor.
Thankfully, there are things we can do to save on bills, especially electricity. If you haven’t purchased a home yet, you may want to take note of these home design ideas to help you avoid huge monthly bills on your electricity in Dallas, TX.
Glass Walls
Glass walls might be a fixture you would normally associate with high-rise buildings, but installing architectural glass instead of cavity walls can help lower your home’s electricity bills. Using glazed or insulated glass walls for your living room can help raise or maintain the temperature levels, reducing your need to turn on your HVAC system. Glass walls also allow your home to make use of natural lighting, which helps you save more on your electricity bill every month.
Reduce Gadget Use
Try to reduce your usage of electronic gadgets such as televisions, laptops, desktops, and other similar devices. All these electronic gadgets consume a lot of power. Try to use these gadgets only when it’s absolutely necessary. It will also help you reduce your electricity bill by a substantial amount.
Apart from significantly lowering your bill consumption, when you’re at home, wouldn’t you just want to relax and spend time with your family? This is very difficult for you to achieve if you’re constantly on your phone. You’re losing precious time that you could’ve otherwise spent being more productive and relaxed. If you don’t have to, let go of your gadgets.
Smart Landscaping
Apart from installing glass walls, you could also turn to the open space outside your home to help manage your electricity bills. By being strategic with the placement of trees in your front or back yard, you can reduce the AC setting for your home in the summer. Additionally, you can use smart landscaping to help save money on your water bills by planting hardy plant species that don’t need much water to survive.
Insulate Your Home
Air conditioning and heating systems are already common in today’s modern homes. However, you should be aware that when you become overly dependent on these, it can dangerously spike your bill up.
A better, more permanent and efficient solution is to insulate the floors, walls, and ceilings of your home, drastically reducing your energy consumption. If you’re not able to do so, you should at least purchase a good quality air conditioning unit and heaters. For instance, there are energy-saving air conditioners with inverters. These can cut down your costs in the long run.
Fortunately, there are so many reliable contractors, such as Reliant Energy, that can set up these energy-efficient options in your home.
Flooring
Most people aren’t aware of this, but the choice of flooring you use for your home can also have an impact on your electricity bills. The right choice can help you reduce heating and cooling costs. Using hardwood floors in Texas climates is a good choice as it is an excellent insulator, staying warm in cold temperatures and relatively cool in the summer. It also goes great with many home design aesthetics. But if hardwood floors are beyond your budget, you can also use carpets and rugs to help trap heat in your home and keep it warm in the colder seasons.
Green Energy
Many homes in Texas are still using conventional energy sources. But with global crises threatening the supply of these brown energy sources, electricity costs have increased. You can opt to use green energy sources like solar energy by installing solar panels or solar roof tiles to generate your own solar energy for your home. You can source your energy from an electric company Dallas based energy provider like Chariot Energy to provide you with green energy.
Making smart choices about how your home is designed can really go a long way to reducing your electricity bills.
