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Green Home Renovation Ideas That Add Value to Your Home
Adding beauty and functionality to a house makes it more appealing to a home buyer. Every real estate investor knows that. But what truly matters when it comes to increasing property value is energy and resource-saving.
There is no better way to increase a house’s value than doing renovations that reduce electricity and water consumption. With that said, here are some eco-friendly ideas that will put your home on top of listing pages in the years to come.
1. Low-flow faucets
Low-flow faucets use aerators. These aerators reduce the water coming out of the faucet without reducing pressure. This results in lesser water consumption and 30-50% savings from the homeowner’s monthly water bill.
There are a wide variety of low-flow faucets and they can be installed in the kitchen, bathroom faucets, and showerheads.
2. Finished basement
Outward home expansions for living or entertainment space require you to remove trees or grass around the house for construction. Finishing your basement won’t. Outward home expansions are costly. Finishing a basement isn’t.
Outward home expansions aren’t appealing to buyers because they know they’ll downsize their homes in the future. Finished basements are one of the things buyers look for in a home for sale. Lastly, homes that appear bigger look high maintenance. A medium-sized house with a basement doesn’t.
3. Water-wise front yard landscaping
Plants give off oxygen and make the surrounding air cleaner. Landscapes are appealing to homebuyers because of their beauty. But not every homebuyer is a landscaping maintenance expert and they would also prefer a landscape that isn’t costly or hard to maintain.
For water-wise landscaping, it’s best to use low water use plants and an efficient sprinkler system. Don’t forget to use low-water cold-resistant plants especially if you’re living in colder and temperate parts of the world.
4. Natural lighting
Homebuyers love the idea of cutting electricity costs. Although that’s easily done with energy-star-rated appliances and LED bulbs, you can also add an eco-friendly appeal to your home through skylighting and solar tube installations.
5. Improving basic house insulation
In winter, heaters use a lot of electricity. In summer, ACs do the same. The energy costs are even increased if the temperature inside your home cannot remain inside and the temperature outside cannot stay out. This is mostly because of bad or damaged insulation causing air leaks.
Insulation will also be one of the primary questions home buyers will ask during the home inspection process. It’s best that you seal leaks and upgrade your wall and attic insulation to the latest state-of-the-art materials especially if your current insulation is old.
You’ll save a lot of money on electricity in the coming years if you haven’t decided to sell your home yet. When you do, it will be very appealing to future buyers.
6. Steel doors
These doors provide better insulation. They are less expensive, durable, more secure, and low maintenance than wood doors. Although steel doors may not be so desirable when it comes to versatility and design. But you can choose a steel door with a design or pattern that mimics a traditional wooden door.
7. Energy star rated windows
Another factor that affects indoor temperature and electricity consumption are old leaky windows. With energy star windows, the cold and heat from winter and summer stay out of your home. They’ll last for 30-40 years before being re-injected with gasses between the glass fills.
Energy star windows also protect you and indoor valuables from damages incurred by ultraviolet rays.
Some eco-friendly renovations might be disadvantageous for some regions and areas. For example, humid environments would make the insides of solar tubes accumulate water. Always review the pros and cons of your green home renovation idea in relation to where you live.
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