It's always an exciting time when selecting design features for your new home. Along with selecting the right colour and design choices, it is also important to consider choosing energy and water efficient items. By choosing eco-friendly washers, dryers, kitchen appliances, toilets etc., you can experience significant savings over the life of your new appliances, fixtures and fittings. There are some tips and tricks on how to make your new home as energy and cost-efficient as possible.
Blockout CurtainS
New homes may use curtains in areas such as bedrooms, living areas and perhaps the dining area as well. These are all places that can benefit greatly from insulated blockout curtains. By choosing blockout curtains for key areas, you can keep your home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Blockout curtains can also help family members sleep better by blocking out early morning sun rays.
When building a new home, it’s a great time to invest in appliances such as a new dishwasher, a washer/dryer set, along with all the permanent fixtures such as toilets, taps, showers, water heaters, etc. The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme determines the water efficiency rating for various appliances. Look out for a product’s water star rating. Products are given a rating between 1 and 6 stars, with 6 being the most efficient.
Along with appliances that use water to operate, other appliances also have an energy rating for the amount of electricity and/or gas they use. Energy ratings generally range from 1 to 10 for refrigerators and freezers, and 1 to 6 for other appliances such as cooktops, dishwashers, washers, dryers, etc. Magnetic induction cooktops are becoming a very popular choice in the kitchen since they are very eco-friendly and offer quick-heating features like a gas appliance, yet they are cool to the touch when not in contact with metal.
If budget permits, it is often better to choose more eco-friendly items for your new home as these appliances will assist in reduce energy and water bills for years to come and is also more environmentally friendly.