Making Basements and Attics more Energy-Efficient

Did you know that the top and bottom of your home might be the areas that are causing your energy bills to skyrocket? That’s right; the basement and the attic of a home can often be the troublemakers when it comes to wasted energy. These parts of the home are the parts we use the least and yet they can be the worst culprits when it comes to letting energy seep out of the house. By focusing on making energy-saving improvements to these two parts of the home, you could significantly reduce your electricity bills this year.

What to do in the basement to reduce energy waste

The main problem with your basement is that your home’s heat and air conditioning may seep out of it without you realizing it. If you go down there and there’s a draft then it might mean that your home’s hot air is escaping. Things that you can do to reduce energy waste in the basement include:

Finish any unfinished walls. An unfinished basement is stealing your home’s electricity.

Caulk all windows. You need to make sure that no air from the home is escaping out through the basement.

Add insulation. A lot of people fail to do this because they think it’s a waste of money to insulate the basement. Actually, this can save you a lot of money in the long run since it helps you avoid wasting electricity throughout the year.

You should also check the basement to see if you’re using electricity that you don’t need down there. For example, do you have light bulbs in the basement? They probably don’t need to be very strong so make sure you’re using low wattage. Do you have vents in the basement? Close them up since you probably don’t really need to heat or cool this part of the house.

What to do in the attic to reduce energy waste

The biggest thing about the attic that you need to know is that you can use the space up here to make your home more energy efficient. Have you ever considered using an attic ventilator? It’s something that you can install to allow your attic to breathe more. Why would you care about this? An overheated attic overheats your home and causes your air conditioner to have to work harder to keep the house cool. Installing an attic ventilator should allow you to easily reduce your home cooling bills during the hotter months of the year.

Like with the basement, you also want to make sure that the attic has proper insulation. This will help keep your cooling and heating systems from releasing their powers out into the world around your house. A properly insulated home is an energy-efficient home from top to bottom!