Home Improvements that Save You Money Over the Long Term
Most families are cutting costs and being budget conscious right now due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic fallout. As such, you’re probably putting off spending money on your home, until you see how things play out over the coming months.
However, numerous home improvements might cost you some dollars now but will save you money over the long term. They’re well worth considering investing in this year.
Add Insulation
One of the best value-for-money home repairs you could get sorted is adding insulation to your property. This job helps to keep your home cool in summer and warm in winter, meaning you don’t need to use air conditioning or heating products so much.
If you own an older property, in particular, the home probably has very little insulation, or perhaps what builders fitted originally has disintegrated. Add insulation in your attic and/or roof, and any other areas of the house where it’s lacking.
It also pays to keep hot air or chilly drafts out of your property more effectively by sealing windows and doors. To get a good result, you can re-caulk these parts of your home, use weather-stripping, apply window film, or try various other direct solutions to keep air out. Another idea is to hang insulated curtains across windows. Do consider getting gas boilers for home heating as well.
Upgrade Gas-Guzzling Appliances
If you have older appliances, they’re no doubt using more energy than you’d like them to as they run. Decrease your annual power bills, then, by upgrading gas-guzzling machines to newer, more efficient models.
Also, if you have appliances that are much larger than your usage needs, consider swapping them out for something more appropriate, so they require less energy. When shopping for new products, look out for those with high Energy Star ratings. The more stars an item has, the better its energy efficiency level is.
Install Solar Pans
This project is a costlier one, but it’s worth considering installing solar pans at your property if you’d like to get on the path to enjoying long-term, significant savings. Solar panel product and installation costs have come down considerably in the last ten years, while at the same time, the options on the market have improved.
This reality means that you may not need as many panels as you expected to turn your home into an energy-efficient one. Solar panels will help you cut back your power bills over the year, and you might even get to the point where you’re not drawing energy from the grid at all. Rooftop solar systems typically take five years or more to pay back their cost, but the savings you make over decades do tend to stack up.
Buy a Home Security System
When thinking about home improvements to help you save money long term, the first thing that comes to mind probably isn’t a home security system. However, the expenses associated with break-ins and people stealing your belongings and causing damage can be many thousands. A system that discourages this can work out to be more cost-effective.
Plus, note that many insurance companies reduce home and contents premiums for people who have security systems. You can save additional funds on an annual basis by installing cameras and an alarm to keep burglars at bay.
Install New Sidings
Not many people remember to think about the sidings, but this is actually one of the most important parts of your home, especially if you are keen to save as much money as possible in the long term. When you install new siding from a professional team like James Hardie siding, you are ensuring that you have far fewer repairs to have to worry about in the future.
That alone will save you a lot of money. But new sidings will also make your home more secure, reducing the likelihood that you will ever lose out financially through a break-in or burglary. It really is one of the best things you can do for the future of your property, and the future of your bank balance.
Clean or Replace Gutters
With the weather warming up and less rain likely to be hanging around over the coming months, now is a perfect time to attend to your property’s gutters. It’s essential to maintain these gutters so you stop leaks and don’t end up having costly water damage, mold, or other repair bills to contend with.
Having clear gutters helps to prevent issues such as cracked foundations, rotten wood fascia, leaks in basements and the roof, and pest infestations. If you have the time and physical ability to clean them every few months, go ahead and do this job yourself. Alternatively, hire a roofer, plumber, gardener, or another specialist for the work. These people can also make repairs to sections of gutters to fix rust and leaks, as required.
If your home’s gutters are old and not well maintained, they may need replacing. This job can happen in parts, though, so you don’t necessarily have to get new guttering put in around the entire property.
Plus, consider having gutter guards installed to make your life easier in the future. These add an extra line of defense against leaves, twigs, and other blocking debris.
The above projects are just some of the home improvements you could consider doing or organizing today to keep your property in better condition and to save you money over the long term. If you have the budget, start work on them right away so you can reap the rewards ASAP.
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