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21
Green Living Sells: Must-Have Eco-Friendly Home Features
When considering upgrades that could help you sell your home in the future, be sure to look into eco-friendly home features. Green living isn't just a fad; it's crucial to find ways to make the homes bought from among Coon Rapids homes for sale or Detroit Lakes homes for sale more energy efficient, winter and summer.
We're not just advocating green living to be trendy; there's real data to support homeowners' interest in adding green features to their homes, both from an ethical standpoint, to cut down on their carbon footprint, and from a saleability angle. After all, the 2023 REALTORS® and Sustainability Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that 48 percent of brokers and agents are convinced that consumers care about sustainability when purchasing a home.
What Green Features Will Appeal to Buyers?
Many green features will help you save money on your energy bill, but you'll likely want to weigh the cost of these improvements vs. the appeal to a potential buyer. Here are some of the best green upgrades you can make.
- Heating and cooling: Schedule spring and fall preventative maintenance to ensure your HVAC system is running right. Change the air filter according to the manufacturer's instructions—more often if you have dusty conditions or shedding pets. If it's time to replace your HVAC, buy a more efficient model.
- Smart or programmable thermostat: You can save money on energy bills by programming your HVAC to cut back on energy use by a few degrees whenever household occupants are sleeping or away. Replace analog or digital thermostats with a programmable or smart model so this temperature change can occur automatically.
- Tankless water heater: A tankless water heater is one of the best bets for the most efficient water heating. The water is warmed up quickly, and you'll hardly ever run out.
- Energy-efficient windows: Replacing drafty windows with double-paned, energy-efficient ones can really cut down on your energy use, summer or winter.
- Improved insulation: Add insulation in the attic to prevent heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer. Consider adding insulation to exterior walls if you suspect your home is lacking.
- Install ceiling fans with reversible blades: In summer, ceiling fans help reduce air conditioning by distributing the cool air to the level where the room's occupants are. They also help lift warm air to the ceiling. Run blades counterclockwise in summer. In winter, reverse blades to push warm air down to floor level.
- Install low-flow showerheads: Save 25 to 60 percent on your water usage, says the Department of Energy, when you install low-flow showerheads. You'll also save on the amount of energy it takes to heat shower water.
- Energy-efficient appliances: Whenever you replace any of your appliances, go for the most efficient by looking for the Energy Star label—it's bright yellow and signifies that the government approves the appliance as energy efficient.
- Smart plugs: Start using smart plugs, which cut off electricity when a device is not in use. If every household did this, more than 100 billion kWh of electricity could be saved nationwide.
Are you ready to go green in your home? Your real estate professionals can advise you. For these questions and for questions on buying or selling a home, call today.