| By :
Molly Wider
Going green and keeping your home as economic as possible is very important with today's utility prices. There are many things you as a homeowner, can do to ensure a little more efficiency from the function of your home. Mobile / modular homes can be easily renovated to be even more efficient than a regular home. Here are a few suggestions: With federal rebates as high as $200, replacing an old washing machine with a more efficient front-loading machine is guaranteed to see savings. Averaging $600, they will easily save you $100 or more each year on electricity and water bills. Many people have added sensors to their light switches only to find out they are too sensitive and not very smart as they are not able to detect the brightness level of urban areas. Instead, adding 'smart switches' to your switch plate will allow you to tell the mini computer where you live and program the time and day. This needs to be done only once for set up then the system will take it from there, figuring out your sunset and sunrise times so it knows when to turn your outside lights on and off. To avoid inefficient outdoor lighting, invest the $30 for the smart switch. A very common home improvement that has come a long way for families is the tankless water heater. They are basically hot water heaters 'on demand' and only provide hot water when it's needed. Not only do they take up much less room, they also average about 50% more efficiency than the large, old water tanks. They can be a little pricey, starting at around $800, but will pay for themselves soon enough in savings. Also adding a demand water circulation system to your home is another cost-effective way to save money and go green. On average, a home wastes 25 to 30 gallons of water a day which adds up to between 10,000 and 14,000 gallons of wasted water per year by waiting for water to heat up before a shower or bath. Demand water circular systems automatically re-circulates your own water back into your water tank until it's ready for use. The cost is around $500 to $700 for a system. Of course, one of the largest home renovation factors to any mobile home is window replacement. Energy-efficient windows will definitely pay for themselves in no time. Not only will they keep the heat in during the winter and help maintain a cool interior during the hot summer months, they can block harmful UV rays that fade your furniture, carpets and curtains. Energy efficient windows generally reduce utility use by about 30%, which means your furnace or air conditioners are not running as hard.
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