If you're looking to increase the efficiency of your home, there's some good news: Not only can you save a bundle of money with lower utility bills, studies show that you will be able to sell your house faster, and for more money as well. Green houses are attracting more attention on the market, so when it does come time to sell you could see a big increase in the price.

Decision Influencers 

Efficiency matters. Ninety percent of potential homebuyers rate home efficiency features as “very important,” according to a survey by the National Association of Homebuilders. The survey went on to report that 61 percent of buyers would pay up to $5,000 more for a house that promised lower utility bills. Other studies found that green-certified houses sell for $34,800 more than similar homes without efficiency features in California, and green houses in Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Ore., sell at a premium of 8.5 percent and 12 percent, respectively. The Seattle study also found that the green homes sold 22 percent faster than others.

Make sure your realtor is aware of all the efficiency upgrades you’ve made and can highlight them to interested buyers. If you provide old utility bills you can really showcase the savings. 

Keep that Electric Bill Low

The electric bill is one of the biggest ongoing household expenses, so any reductions you make will go a long way. There are a lot of places to look for savings. For starters, if you have old, outdated appliances, replace them with new Energy Star-certified models so you know that they meet the strictest efficiency standards. Your lighting system is another place to upgrade -- it's time to toss old incandescent bulbs and replace them with compact fluorescents or LEDS. Finally, if you really want to save money and make your house look good to buyers, install some solar panels on the roof, which can reduce the electricity bill to near zero. 

How Else Can I Increase My Efficiency?

Don't forget to take other steps to increase the energy efficiency of your home, especially when it comes to heating bills:

You can also hire a qualified professional to conduct an energy audit and point out other ways to increase your efficiency and save money. Even if you don't plan on selling your house any time soon, you can enjoy seeing the savings in your bills each month.

Most people have air conditioning in their homes and though the temperatures don’t really drop too much even during winter here, there are definitely days on which there is a nip in the air, and if you have tiled flooring, it’s bound to get uncomfortably cold. While heating systems do help solve this problem, many homeowners are now transitioning to radiant heat. This provides very pleasant warmth to your body and feet as it warms the surface of the floor.

These under floor heating systems are suitable for hard floor surfaces such as living rooms, kitchens, entertaining areas, bathrooms etc. Since the air circulation is very gentle, there is a marked reduction in the amount of dust particles that get circulated, it’s a great relief for people that suffer from asthma and allergies.

When you are planning on getting this system installed, it’s important that you hire the services of a well-established and credible company; they will understand what your specific requirements are and then provide you the kind of solutions you need.

This type of heating uses heating cables that are well-embedded in the flooring concrete slab and it provides the right amount of heating. It essentially stores the heat during the night and then slowly releases it during the day and provides continuous warmth.

As you can see, there are a number of other advantages to getting underfloor heating systems installed. For more information, simply speak with the experts at Allround Electrical and take their advice on various aspects of power factor installation solutions. The number to call is – 1300 169 263. You can also write to us at this email address.

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Great outdoor lighting provides your home entryway with a welcoming and luxuriant presentation, ensuring just the right level of illumination for the safety and security of visitors and guests. 

Now is the time to assess your property and invest in a custom outdoor lighting design to increase your home’s curb appeal and provide a luminous finish to your home entrance.

New innovations include outdoor post lamps, decorative lanterns and energy-efficient pathway lighting.

To make your nighttime outdoor environment as comfortable, safe, and maintenance-free as possible, great lighting is key.

1.  SECURITY LIGHTING FOR WALKWAYS AND DRIVEWAYS.

Outdoor post lamps and path lighting help to expand your outdoor environment, providing a tailor-made illumination toward the front door, deck, patio +/or garage.

2. DECORATIVE LIGHTING FOR HOME ENRTY ZONES.

An outdoor hanging lamp and/or wall lanterns add a customized finish and are available in a myriad of styles to complement homes from traditional to ultra modern.

3.  TASK LIGHT BY THE FRONT DOOR AND GARAGE.

Direct focused illumination on key holes and security pads should be bright enough to allow for easy access and visibility when you are entering and leaving your home at night.

4.  ACCENT ILLUMINATION TO HIGHLIGHT HOUSE NUMBERS

Make sure that your home is properly illuminated for guests as well as delivery people and emergency vehicles.  All too often, help is delayed in emergency situations because house numbers are not clearly visible at night and outdoor lighting is insufficient.

5.  “SHIELDED” LAMPS THAT EXPAND OUTDOOR LIVING SPACE AND ACCENTUATE IMPORTANT ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES.

Properly shielded outdoor lighting fixtures expand and beautify your home, without creating glare or causing visual discomfort to visitors and neighbors. A good lighting design with energy-efficient fixtures will increase the value of your property and provide majestic outdoor lighting effects.

LET’S GET STARTED…

*Rule of thumb for sizing outdoor wall lanterns:  The height of the lantern should be based on the height of the door.  If brackets are to be installed on either side of the door, they should measure about one-fourth the height of the door.  If using only one lantern, size up to about one-third the height of the door.

** “Dark Sky” compliancy and light pollution:  Light pollution is any undesirable effect of artificial light, including glare, light trespass and decreased visibility at night.  Many manufacturers offer “Dark Sky” versions of their outdoor lighting products, which “collar” the light bulb around its base to block superfluous upward emissions of light.

-Match outdoor fixture styles to the decor of your interior space.  Whether you go with classic and elegant traditional outdoor lighting or sleek and contemporary, your outdoor post lamps, hanging lamps and wall lighting should complement that style.

-If you have custom designed hardware on doors, find a finish that will work well to complement this detail.

-Don’t neglect the side yard and dark areas by side windows;  Include at least one low-level outdoor lamp for nighttime security.

-Look for finishes and outdoor hanging lanterns, post lamps and flush fixtures that are guaranteed to last.  Check out warranty information on the latest outdoor lighting fixtures; some include a life-time guarantee on all finishes and parts.

-Make sure to view your outdoor lighting after dark before signing off on a project; make necessary adjustments to refine your outdoor lighting design, focusing the light exactly where it is needed for an aesthetically pleasing look and polished illumination for safe navigation and security lighting at night.

Capitol Lighting’s professional lighting consultants will help you in selecting everything from timers and outdoor hanging lamps to path lights and outdoor post lamps.  Work with the experts to prepare your outdoor environment with quality lighting customized to enhance the value of your home.

From traditional outdoor lighting to modern and classic contemporary designs, the right outdoor lamps make a world of difference.  Beautify your home and secure the neighborhood with updated outdoor lighting fixtures to highlight your home with good sense and style.

Top Picks include:

New Traditional Outdoor Lighting from Hinkley Lighting:

“Mendocino” Outdoor Post Lamp from Troy Lighting:

Outdoor Hanging Lamp from Fine Art Lamps:

Dark-Sky Compliant Outdoor Lamps from Minka Lavery:

In most offices, hallways, and other lower level and flat ceiling environments you will find some sort of tube lighting in place. The most common technology that is found to be used is currently fluorescent, but after this post that might slowly change for some because this alternatives to fluorescent office lighting and all of those other uses listed above is going to change your mind on which technology is the truly efficient one.

Although it is completely harmless while in the tube itself, accidents always happen. When a fluorescent tube is broken, a LED fluorescent tube alternative, you will skip this issue entirely because LED technology does not require any sort of mercury to work!

While LED technology is pretty much good to go in a greater range of temperatures, fluorescent lamps only works at it’s peak performance when it is in room temperature type environments. So LED technology is much more flexible in which temperatures it can operate properly at, fluorescents are only suitable for inside only applications. But even then, LED still wins for all of these other reasons listed on this post! And a thing to remember is that fluorescent technology isn’t better than LED is indoors, it’s just that it only works optimally at room temperatures. But when you replace fluorescent light with LED, you still get all the benefits that LED brings and they aren’t picky about the temperature at all.

When you hear the words non-directional, what exactly does that mean to you? Well, in the world of lighting it basically means that such fixture emits lights 360 degrees (or in all directions). This causes 30-40% of all the light being emitted by a fluorescent tube to be wasted due to the trait it carries of non-directional emission of light. With LED, it has directional lighting which allows you to direct the light where it needs to go and isn’t going to waste being emitted 360 degrees.

Let alone all of the other benefits that a a return on investment when you start looking at what contact us with any questions you have!

Modern living is highly dependent on electricity and we use energy to cool our homes in the summer and heat our homes in winter. Either way, we end up using a significant amount of money of utility bills right through the year.

When the temperatures dip it is but normal for us to turn up the air conditioning by a few degrees when we are at home. We may also use space heaters in certain areas of our homes and end up using more hot water as well. This makes it almost impossible to keep a handle on our utility bills during the winter months.

So, is there nothing we can do to make sure that we are able to cut costs in some way or the other? Well, there sure are a number of ways in which you can increase the energy-efficiency of your home; here are some tips that will help you stay warm in your home, and use the appliances you need, without breaking the bank:

This is one of the simplest things you can do to reduce your electricity bills in the winter. You should make use of natural light and keep the blinds open for a large part of the day. This will bring in more warmth into your home and you will find that you don’t have to run the HVAC system at higher temperatures, at least during the daytime.