General Info – Greennova

Clear Your AC If you have an HVAC system that heats and cools your home, you can adjust your thermostat to bring the temperature up and down to lower your heating and cooling bills. While you might think that the system alone will help you save, you also need to clean and clear your AC system regularly. The AC system is the larger unit that sits outside your home. Any debris, including tree branches, old leaves or even grocery store bags can change the way the system filters out air and leave you spending more money each month. Clear away debris from your AC unit at least once a month. Plant a Shade Tree Planting a shade tree can drastically improve the temperature control in a home. By blocking the sunlight from entering via the windows, shade trees make the property more efficient and reduce the energy needed to cool the home in the summer. If you live in a climate that experiences cold winters, a deciduous tree can continue to be your ally when it comes in efficiency. By shedding its leaves when the cool weather sets in, the tree allows sunlight to hit your home and warm it up a few degrees, reducing the load on your heater. Evergreens, on the other hand, make for excellent wind blockers in the winter to help keep the frigid air at bay. Efficient use of light By only having the light on in your backyard or front yard when you are there after dark. If no one is there, it is better to keep the light off. In the winter, this saves about 10 hours of electricity for a light in the backyard. If you are in your backyard in the evening, it is better to make a fire in a fire pit than to keep the light on unnecessarily. The fire in the fire pit provides more light and also gives off heat. Install energy-efficient windows Windows are a significant source of energy waste - they can add up to 10-25% of your total heating bill. To prevent heat loss through your windows, you can replace single-pane windows with double-pane ones instead. For homes in colder regions, gas-filled windows with “Low-E” coatings can significantly reduce your heating expenses. In addition, interior or exterior storm windows can reduce unnecessary heat loss by 10 to 20 percent. You should especially consider storm windows if your region experiences frequent extreme weather events. In warmer climates, heat gain through windows may be a problem. In addition to minimizing heat loss, Low-E coatings on windows can reduce heat gain by reflecting more light and thus lowering the amount of thermal energy that enters your home. Depending on where you live, ENERGY STAR windows can save you $20-$95 each year on your utility bills. Window shades, shutters, screens, and awnings can also provide an extra layer of insulation between your home and outside temperatures, leading to even more energy savings. Weatherize your home Weatherizing, or sealing air leaks around your home, is a great way to reduce your heating and cooling expenses. The most common sources of air leaks into your home are vents, windows, and doors. To prevent these leaks, you should ensure that there are no cracks or openings between the wall and vent, window, or doorframe. To seal air leaks between stationary objects, such as the wall and window frame, you can apply caulk. For cracks between moving objects, such as operable windows and doors, you can apply weather strips. Weatherstripping and caulking are simple air-sealing techniques that typically offer a return on investment in less than a year. Air leaks can also occur through openings in the wall, floor, and ceiling from plumbing, ducting, or electrical wiring. Air leaking out of your home is most often from the home warmt to our attic through small openings. Whether it is through ducts, light fixtures, or the attic hatch, warm air will rise and escape through small openings. As the natural flow of heat is from warmer to cooler areas, these small openings can make your heating bill even higher if your attic is not sufficiently insulated. To reap the full amount of savings from weatherization, you should consider fully insulating your home. Replace all lightings the house with LED lamps. Many people have already replaced their incandescent and halogen bulbs with LED bulbs. A good choice, because an LED light is more economical than an incandescent lamp and pays for itself quickly. So you can save a lot of energy by purchasing LED lamps. But that is not it. It is more climate-friendly to replace them now. Do you replace all your inefficient lamps at once? Then you only do it once and you make a nice impact on the climate. If you want to keep it smaller: start with the lamps that are turned on/used the most. Check if you have a dimmer at the switch. Not all dimmers work well with LED bulbs. Check in advance what kind of dimmer you have and whether it works with LED lighting. You may need to have your switch replaced. Nowadays there are also handy 3-position LED lamps, so you don't need a dimmer. Go to the store or buy these lamps online Incandescent and halogen lamps have now been banned for sale. You can buy LED lights in the store or online. When you are going to buy an LED lamp, it is useful to take the old lamp(s) with you to the store, Write down the letters and numbers found on the bulb, or take a photo of it. Cavity wall insulation Wall insulation With cavity wall insulation you have a warmer house, a lower energy bill and you help the climate. In addition, it is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest ways to insulate your home. Lose less energy and save between 260 and 1,000 euros per year with cavity wall insulation. What is cavity wall insulation? Cavity wall insulation is the most common form of wall insulation. A cavity is a space between an inner and outer wall, which you can fill with insulating material. Cavity wall insulation makes the walls less cold. This ensures a more sustainable and comfortable home! With solar panels, you contribute to a better climate. By installing solar panels on your roof you not only save the environment. You also save on your energy costs. Even in cloudy weather, you benefit from the sun and sustainably generate part of your electricity. Save hundreds of euros every year with solar panels The purchase of solar panels quickly pays for itself. A small calculation example: for a set of 10 solar panels you pay about 4,700 euros. You will save about 600 euros on your energy bill every year. This means that you earn back the solar panels in 8 years. If you also reclaim the VAT - 760 euros - the investment still costs 3,940 euros and you earn it back in just over 6 years. In addition, there is also a 'netting scheme' in which the energy you supply to the energy company is settled against your consumption. It is good to know that the netting scheme for solar panels will change in 2023. Generating solar energy together Are you a tenant or do you not have your own roof? Then there are still opportunities to help the climate. You can also generate solar energy with others. Discover how to generate solar energy together There are many different possibilities to generate solar energy with others. For example, you can join an already existing group of people who generate solar energy together, this is called a sustainable energy cooperative. But you can also set up an energy cooperative yourself, buy a piece of solar panel or even invest in a solar park. Heat pump: from gas to electricity A heat pump provides heating for your house and possibly hot water. A heat pump uses electricity to extract heat from the air, soil or groundwater. In different countries there is an attractive subsidy for heat pumps now. A heat pump is good for the climate: your CO2 emissions for heating are reduced by about 20 to 45 percent. And your energy bill goes down too. There are different types of heat pumps. A hybrid heat pump works in conjunction with a gas-fired HR boiler and is suitable for houses with moderate insulation. A fully electric heat pump replaces your gas-fired HR boiler and is suitable for houses with good to very good insulation. A ventilation heat pump extracts heat from the ventilation air and is suitable for houses with mechanical ventilation. You can use a hybrid heat pump in combination with your gas-fired HR boiler. The heat pump provides a large part of the heating of your house. A hybrid heat pump extracts heat from the outside air and converts it to a usable temperature. If it's too cold outside, your HR boiler kicks in. Your HR boiler also provides hot water in the shower and kitchen. A hybrid heat pump is cheaper than a fully electric heat pump. You can buy it at the same time as a new HR boiler, or combine it with your current HR boiler. With a hybrid heat pump, you do the climate a favour: your CO2 emissions from heating are reduced by about 25 percent. And you spend less