An extension to your existing home can be a great idea. You may desire so to meet your requirement to have additional space or to add value to your property. There can be many reasons why you may want to extend your house however; you have to pay attention to loads of issues. Apart from designing, constructing, decorating, and ensuring stability and durability, you have to be additionally concerned on the issue of ensuring extended portion is desirably energy efficient.
Your first concern would be getting permission for an extension from local authorities, following procedures as necessary. The next crucial step would be to find out and engage a trustworthy construction company translates your dream extension to a reality.
To be sure on a reasonable budget, you need to do some research and get quotes from at least 3 to 4 different builders who are trustable for home extensions according to your research. Although, these are common issues for anything new you look forward to have or add, concern about the quality of the energy efficiency of your extended portion has to be addressed in details.
Reasons for Energy Efficient Extensions
Extensions of existing home are an excellent idea. Ensuring it to be energy efficient is beneficial in various ways. Following advantages may be interesting for you.
- An energy efficient home reduces your costs on energy bills. Your expenses on energy are not a one time or a fixed expenditure, it is a recurrent expenditure that fluctuates. But, you can easily control and reduce it by getting your dwelling green and energy efficient. So, you should opt for it during your home extensions.
- In an energy efficient building, all home comfort appliances perform efficiently, smoothly, and more reliably. Because of these reasons they need not be repaired frequently and require usual maintenance only.
- Buildings certified as energy efficient, fetch higher rental rates and increases the asset value.
- Such buildings cut down carbon emissions remarkably.
- It improves your image that you are environment conscious.
- These buildings ensure better and steady indoor air quality and raise comfort of occupants.
Tips On How To Make Your Home Extensions Energy Efficient
There are many ways that you can consider while consulting a construction company on design, types, and qualities of construction materials those to be used, in details. Followings are some of the key issues you need to contemplate seriously.
- Kitchen and living rooms should preferably face the side that allows entry of sunlight for most part of the day.
- Majority of the building materials should be good heat absorbers. Use building materials with good R-value or the materials are well resistant to heat. This will keep your indoor temperature balanced. Your requirements of using heating and cooling systems will be reduced.
- Your plan of home extensions should include insulation of your external walls. You can keep provisions for embedding a layer of insulating materials on your external walls.
- All windows should be double glazed with thick and dark curtains to curtail heat transfer.
- You should favor doors between rooms over a doorless plan. By keeping doors of other rooms closed, you can heat or cool the rooms you are using.
- Ensure uses of eco-friendly paints only.
- In case you prefer few skylights in home extensions, ensure that they are properly insulated. Use of CFLs and LED light bulbs instead of conventional bulbs are more energy efficient.
- You can opt for under floor heating. This is gaining popularity in home extensions. They are expensive, but very energy efficient and distribute warmth more evenly.
- Your household appliances should be of proper size and energy efficient as well. You should use them only when required.
Your project of home extensions is valuable venture and a good investment, having it energy efficient will add value to it.
