Increase Your Home Value with Eco-Friendly Upgrades

If you’ve begun the process of increasing your home’s value, there are a few easy ways to do it! Instead of just landscaping and color schemes, think outside of the box for energy efficient ways that can increase your home’s value. Generally, the energy efficient ways to increase your value tend to be the least expensive!

Here are some eco-friendly upgrades to consider when looking to increase your home’s value:

•Lighting Changes: Even if you weren’t looking to increase home value, changing your lighting is a must! Natural lighting is a highly sought-after feature in many markets, and it can be achieved through more than just windows. Sun tubes, or light pipes, are a globe-capped hole in the roof that can funnel light through reflective material into your home. This usually costs around $500-$1,000 to professionally install, and they can add a lot of value to your home!

•Choose an Energy Efficient Water Heater: When you are looking to go eco-friendly, the right equipment is a must. Many homeowners report that 16% of energy usage in the average household is spent solely on the cost of heating hot water. With an energy efficient heat pump water heater with a capacity of 55+gallons, you could decrease your energy bill by up to 50%! This can add value to your home and help save you money.

•Install Energy Efficient Appliances: While this may seem like a small part of your home, it can make a huge impact! Older appliances will decrease the value of your home if you put it on the market. With the benefit of energy saving and home value, this is a helpful upgrade all around. When choosing new appliances, however, be sure that you are checking the kilowatt per hour usage and compare it to your current appliances.

•Check Your Insulation: Many homeowners have higher energy costs because of poor insulation. This home improvement upgrade can be credited on your taxes! Changing your insulation to environmentally friendly options like wool or cotton will cost you around $1,300 but is will add over $1,600 to your home value. This upgrade can also save you $200 a year!