Your Roof is an Energy Saving Feature
Your Roof is an Important Energy Saving Feature
Whether you are a landlord or a homeowner, the quest for lowering your bills for your family or future tenants could be more straightforward than first thought. When a roof and energy saving are mentioned, many people automatically think of solar panels. Yes, solar panels are a great energy saving feature, however there are many other ways that you can use your roof as an energy saving feature for a greener lifestyle.
Here are some simple energy saving tips which can be easily implemented in your home to use your roof as an energy saving feature:
Energy Saving Feature – Insulation
One step to achieving an eco roof is choosing the type of material used as insulation. Eco-friendly insulation materials can not only be more economical but they can also reduce the risk of health issues such as respiratory problems. One such material is hemp.
Hemp is a wonder plant which can be used to make concrete, clothes, fuel, paper and many other products. Hemp insulation quilts can be made by combining hemp with recycled cotton.
While hemp maybe fast-growing and can lock in large amounts of carbon dioxide which improves the air quality in a room. Sheep’s wool is a popular alternative insulating material as the thick substance traps air pockets which insulates your home as well as the animal over harsh winters. Recycled newspapers are an economic insulating source, however it has a shorter lifespan than other insulating materials so it will need to be replaced periodically.
Energy Saving – Light
Installing a skylight window in your roof can brighten up any room by allowing a lot more natural light to flood into your home. Tests have shown that a skylight window in your roof can improve the light content of a room by up to twenty times the size of the window.
Increased natural light has been linked to improved mental health as the sun’s rays stimulate feel-good chemicals in the brain like serotonin as well as providing you with a natural source of vitamin D.
Skylights can be made and installed using tempered or laminated glass, polycarbonate or acrylic domes as the range of roof skylight windows using your roof as an energy saving feature are many and from top brands too.
A skylight or fixed loft window installed in your roof can provide light and illumination throughout the day, reducing the need for artificial light and saving you from turning on the lights in a dark room and when the sun is shining. Skylights can also help warm up your home naturally, which in the long term will help to reduce your homes central heating bills. Adding blinds or curtains creates an inviting, cozy, intimate atmosphere as the suns rays shine through
Energy Saving Feature – Water
Water is a vital resource for human life so saving water at home will contribute to a better environment and less use of the planet’s natural resources. Water consumption in the bathroom and kitchen can be greatly reduced by turning off taps and faucets when not used or collecting grey water for use in the garden. In this way, you prevent the unnecessary waste of water, which saves money at home.
For gardening enthusiasts, a good eco tip is to link up the guttering on your roof to a water butt or water storage container on the ground or buried into the ground in order to collect the free rainwater. Water butts are inexpensive and can be easily linked together with tubing and pipes to increase their water storage size. The collected water could be filtered and used to fill up a paddling pool in the summer and water your garden all year round.
Energy Saving – Electricity
Did you know that the sun beats down more energy to satisfy global energy needs every hour. By installing solar panels to your roof, you can harness just a fraction of this energy power for your home. There are two types of solar panel: one for converting the sun’s energy into electricity and the other for converting the energy into heat for your water system.
The cost for an average solar electricity panel is around £7,000 whilst a water heating panel costs £3,000-£5,000. Therefore solar panels may be a pricey energy saving step, but as a long term investment, these panels can also save you thousands in reduced bills.
All these eco-friendly, bill lowering alterations to your roof can turn your property into an appealing investment for buyers and tenants. You can advertise your property free online, so make sure to post plenty of detailed pictures of your new roof to optimise its selling appeal.
Re: Roof insulation
It’s so easy to insulate roofs you wonder why more people don’t do it themselves: reduces heat pollution and saves money
Snow retention is a good indicator of how well lofts are insulated. If I were a salesman I’d go round taking pictures of peoples’ roofs at the moment and then point out how much energy/money they’re wasting … 😉