Saving through an energy-efficient home
Saving through an energy-efficient home
Financial management isn't just about preparing for retirement or reducing taxes. It's also about looking for opportunities to save money over time. One way to accomplish this is by saving energy at home. An energy-efficient home is one that uses less energy on a day-to-day basis-and it can be accomplished with some simple lifestyle changes and eco-friendly home improvements. In some cases, these investments even qualify you for a tax credit, which can help defray your upfront costs. Here, Wealth Enhancement looks at several strategies you can adopt to save through an energy-efficient home.
The benefits of an energy-efficient home
The most obvious benefit of an energy-efficient home is that it may help to lower your energy costs. This matters more now than ever, with energy costs across the United States projected to be 10% higher in 2025 compared to just last year. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the average energy-efficient home saves up to 25% on utilities compared to similar homes not designed with efficiency in mind. However, the benefits don't stop there.
By lowering energy usage, you can help the planet by reducing your home's greenhouse gas emissions. Your indoor environment might improve as well, with greater air quality and more consistent inside temperatures. Upgrades may even increase your home value, with homes rated as energy-efficient selling for 2.7% above comparable unrated homes.
How to make your home more energy efficient
If you would like to unlock the advantages of an energy-efficient home, here are a few ways to get started:
Get a home energy audit. Many local utility companies offer energy audits to help identify areas for improvement, such as air leaks around windows or doors, poor insulation, or inefficient appliances. Starting here can help you pinpoint where to focus your energy improvement efforts.Make some lifestyle changes. While some energy-efficient upgrades cost money, others simply require you to change some of your habits. For instance, turning off your lights, unplugging unused devices, and closing your blinds during the summer to reduce heat transfer are all easy ways to start saving by reducing energy consumption. Other easy fixes include changing your furnace filter regularly, lowering the temperatures on your thermostat and water heater, using low-flow faucets to conserve water, and even planting trees strategically to gain some shade.Use LED lighting. The case for energy-efficient lighting is strong, with LED bulbs using up to 90% less energy and lasting up to 25 times longer than traditional incandescent lighting.Reinsulate. A home's insulation can shrink over time, resulting in heat loss during the winter and heat retention during warmer months. Properly insulating your attic, walls, and floors can cut your energy bills and make your home more comfortable in the process.Replace your windows. Older homes tend to leak two to four times more air than newer homes, so you can improve energy efficiency by sealing leaks with weatherstripping and caulking. If your windows are older, you may also want to consider replacing them. Newer windows rely on more advanced technology that controls heat transfer, which could help reduce your energy usage by up to 30%.Upgrade your appliances. Just like older windows are less efficient, so are older appliances. By switching to Energy Star-certified appliances, you can reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency. Newer refrigerators, for instance, could reduce energy consumption by up to 9%, and newer dishwashers typically use less water and less energy.Review your heating and cooling systems. Upgrading your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems can often deliver greater energy efficiency, but there are other changes you can make that also help. For instance, ceiling fans consume 99% less energy than central air conditioning systems. Even switching to a smart thermostat can help by automating and regulating your home's temperature control.Upgrade your water heater. Older water heaters typically hold a reservoir of hot water and expend energy to keep that water hot. Tankless water heaters, however, heat water on demand, which can reduce energy consumption by up to 34%.Go solar. Depending on where you live, you may be able to use solar energy to electrify your home, reducing reliance on the traditional power grid. Installing solar panels is a good way to reduce energy costs and could even result in financial credits if you can sell excess energy back to the grid.
Qualifying for tax credits
Enhancing your home's energy efficiency can deliver ongoing savings over time. You may even be able to defray the initial costs of certain home improvements with the energy efficient home improvement credit. Qualified energy-efficient home improvements made after Jan. 1, 2023, may make you eligible for a tax credit of up to $3,200, claimable for improvements to your primary residence made through 2032. The credit equals 30% of qualified expenses such as home energy audits, residential energy property expenses, and energy efficiency improvements.
The maximum annual credit is $1,200 for energy-efficient property costs and certain energy-efficient home improvements and $2,000 for qualified heat pumps, water heaters, and biomass stoves and boilers. Additionally, the credit has no lifetime dollar limit, which means you can claim the annual amounts for every year you make eligible improvements. That said, beginning in 2025, the credit is only available if the energy-efficient items were produced by a qualified manufacturer, so it's important to check in advance if the items you select qualify.
Bottom line
Making your home more energy efficient can deliver a range of benefits, from reduced utility bills and positive environmental outcomes to potential increases in the value of your home. With available tax credits and potential rebates or incentives from local utility companies, energy-efficient home improvements can be a sound investment that pays off in greater comfort and financial savings over time.
This story was produced by Wealth Enhancement and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
© Stacker Media, LLC.
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Senate could drop contentious provisions House members risked supporting Even though Republicans control both chambers of Congress, the Senate could drop or fail to approve contentious parts that GOP House colleagues in competitive districts already went out on a limb to support. It's happened many times before - with sizable political consequences. The concept even has a name: Getting BTU'd. That refers to a 1993 House vote on a controversial energy tax during the first year of Bill Clinton's presidency based on British thermal units. House Democrats lost 54 seats in the 1994 election – and control of the chamber for the first time in 40 years – in part because of supporting the BTU tax that the Senate never debated. John Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College, has said a book about such votes could be called 'Profiles in Futility.' 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When he turned to legislation, he persuaded Republican congressional leaders to package all his priorities into one bill, rather than splitting taxes and border security into two different bills, to complete the debate in one fell swoop. More: Everything's an 'emergency': How Trump's executive order record pace is testing the courts Lawmakers often shy away from piling too much into one bill because each contentious provision spurs its own opposition. But faced with the prospect of unanimous Democratic opposition, Trump opted for a strategy that focuses on GOP priorities such as tax relief and border security while personally lobbying reluctant Republicans to stay in line. 'Americans have given us a mandate for bold and profound change,' Trump told Congress in a speech March 4. 'I call on all of my Republican friends in the Senate and House to work as fast as they can to get this Bill to MY DESK before the Fourth of JULY,' he added in a social media post about three months later, on June 2. Musk opposition makes waves Trump's efforts worked in the Republican-led House, which after several days of negotiations and an all-night floor debate voted 215-214 in favor of a plan that had the full backing of the White House. Getting the measure through the Senate - even with the GOP in charge needing just a simple majority of 51 votes - is proving to be its own elusive challenge. Musk, the former head of Trump's bureaucracy-slashing Department of Government Efficiency, spent this past week unloading on the House-passed bill for spending too much money. He called the legislation "pork-filled" and a "disgusting abomination," and urged lawmakers to "KILL the BILL." More: The post-fight fallout from Trump-Musk battle could get even uglier While Musk's barrage ignited a war with Trump and left many Republicans cringing, deficit hawks in the GOP said they appreciated the world's richest man also pushing for deeper spending cuts from the U.S. government. "I welcome people like Elon Musk that try to hold our feet to the fire," said Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Missouri. "We often disappoint our voters when we don't do the cuts that we campaign on, when we're not fiscally responsible." But Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, who served in the Air Force for 30 years, said the division between Trump and Musk wasn't a good look for his party, especially when it's trying to advance the primary piece of legislation on the president's agenda. "It's just not helpful," Bacon said. "When you have division, divided teams don't perform as well." 'The opposite of conservative': Sen. Paul on bill Several pockets of Republican senators have voiced concerns about the House-passed legislation. Each group has their issue that they want addressed, and each one presents a hurdle for Trump and GOP leaders like Thune as they try to cobble together a winning 51-vote coalition that can also make it back through the House for another final vote. The Senate factions include one group seeking to cut more spending because the Congressional Budget Office said the House-passed plan would add $2.4 trillion to the debt over the next 10 years. Others are worried about cutting Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for low-income families. And another handful of senators say they are worried about the House-passed bill rolling back renewable energy tax credits for solar, wind, geothermal and nuclear energy. "There are many of us who recognize that what came out of the House was pretty aggressive in how it seeks to wind down or phase out many of the energy tax credit provisions," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. "I happen to think that we've got tax policies that are working to help advance our energy initiatives around the country, as diverse and as varied as they are. Wouldn't we want to continue those investments? 'This bill is the opposite of conservative, and we should not pass it,' added Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, in a June 4 social media post that raised concerns about the nation's debt limit. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley is one of the outspoken Republicans taking issue with the House-passed bill's provisions that would cut nearly $800 billion during the next decade from Medicaid and, according to the Congressional Budget Office, cost 7.8 million people their health insurance. "I don't want to see rural hospitals close and I don't want to see any benefits cut in my state," Hawley said. Trump and his allies contend spending cuts of $1.6 trillion are the most ever approved in a House bill and that the tax cuts will spur economic growth to offset the costs. Trump got personal this week in calling Paul's ideas 'crazy' in a social media post and said the people of Kentucky 'can't stand him.' More: Trump lashes out at Sen. Rand Paul over opposition to big tax bill House Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, told reporters June 4 that few people are going to like everything in an 1,100-page bill. But the Louisiana Republican said the measure he helped craft in the House was carefully calibrated to gain wide support. "I hope everybody will evaluate that – in both parties, and everybody – and recognize, 'Wow, the benefits of this far outweigh anything that I don't like out it,'" Johnson said. Senate dropping local tax deductions would be 'radioactive': Rep. Lalota Any changes made by the Senate will force another vote in the House before the bill can become law - and that's where the math can get tricky. Republican senators are talking about tinkering with a key compromise that Trump and Johnson signed off on in the House that raised the federal deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) from $10,000 to $40,000 for people earning less than $500,000 per year. That provision is important to GOP lawmakers from high-tax states such as California, New York and New Jersey who supported the House bill that passed through the 435-seat chamber by only a one-vote margin. More: Senate Republicans plan to amend SALT tax deduction in Trump's sweeping bill The Senate aims to cut back that provision. But Rep. Nick Lalota, R-New York, told reporters on June 4 that revisiting the tax issue "would be like digging up safely-buried radioactive waste." House members scouring through the bill they voted on weeks ago are also finding unfamiliar provisions in the version that they say they would have opposed. For example, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, said in a social media post June 3 that the Senate needs to strip out language she hadn't noticed earlier that would prevent states from regulating artificial intelligence. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Nebraska, said he opposed a section that aims to hinder federal judges from enforcing their court orders. Trump sought the provision to prevent judges from blocking policies largely spelled out via his executive orders. Senate could drop contentious provisions House members risked supporting Even though Republicans control both chambers of Congress, the Senate could drop or fail to approve contentious parts that GOP House colleagues in competitive districts already went out on a limb to support. It's happened many times before - with sizable political consequences. The concept even has a name: Getting BTU'd. That refers to a 1993 House vote on a controversial energy tax during the first year of Bill Clinton's presidency based on British thermal units. House Democrats lost 54 seats in the 1994 election – and control of the chamber for the first time in 40 years – in part because of supporting the BTU tax that the Senate never debated. John Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College, has said a book about such votes could be called 'Profiles in Futility.' Another example was the 2009 American Clean Energy and Security Act, a bill which Obama supported as president that aimed to limit the emissions of heat-trapping gases from power plants, vehicles and other industrial sources. The Democrat-controlled House narrowly approved the measure 219-212 but the Senate never took it up. Critics said it would raise the cost of energy. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a non-profit libertarian think tank that opposed the measure, counted 28 House Democrats from coal states who lost their seats in the 2010 mid-term election after voting for the bill. Fast forward to 2025 and Republicans are the ones facing a similar dynamic. Musk, who contributed about $290 million of his personal fortune to help Republicans including Trump win last November, slammed House lawmakers who voted for the president's legislative package.'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong,' Musk wrote June 3 on social media. But House Republicans who voted for the legislation, including some who also demanded deeper spending cuts when it was in their hands, said they're not worried about the package falling apart and coming back to haunt them. They say that's because they did fight for more budget cuts. "This wasn't a hard vote. It was hard going through the process to get more, and you can always do better," said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-South Carolina. "But look at what Donald Trump's done, the great things that are contributing to cutting the deficit." Rep. David Schweikert, R-Arizona, who represents a competitive toss-up district, noted that he's introduced multiple bills to trim federal spending. "If Mr. Musk wants to be helpful, what he should do is start to understand that those of us in a 50-50 district who have shown up with actual policy solutions that offset every penny of this bill," he said. Leaving Washington for the weekend, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force Once on June 6 that he wasn't worried about Musk and that he remained confident he'd get "tremendous support" in the Senate to pass the bill. 'I don't know of anybody who's going to vote against it," the president said, before adding: "Maybe Rand Paul." For his part, Johnson told reporters June 4 that he wasn't concerned about House Republicans losing seats in 2026. Predicting that the Senate would find the necessary votes on the president's tax bill, the speaker said he expects Americans will see the benefits of Trump's efforts before the next election. 'Am I concerned about the effect of this on the midterms? I'm not," Johnson said. "I have no concern whatsoever. I am absolutely convinced that we are going to win the midterms and grow the House majority because we are delivering for the American majority and fulfilling our campaign promises." Contributing: Reuters
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Indiana Secretary speaks on energy
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Governor Mike Braun has recently appointed Suzanne Jaworowski as Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources. She said Hoosiers should be excited, not worried about the future. Jaworowski ran President Trump's 2016 campaign for Indiana and has served as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy and the International Atomic Energy Agency in Austria. She said Governor Braun is currently focused on a reliable energy grid and affordability for Hoosiers, while keeping the state's natural resources healthy. However, she said this is a unique time with the demand for energy across the state. 'Right now, we are at an unprecedented, historic time for energy demand', Jaworowski said. 'Our energy needs are surging because of AI data centers, steel manufacturing, reshoring of manufacturing and industry, but also just our everyday electrification. Think about all of the things we plug in every single day and it's driving our need for electricity far more than we've ever had in our lifetime.' Jaworowski said that one of the governor's goals is to deploy nuclear energy in the state. She said it is the right time for everyone involved. 'Nuclear is large scale, always available, carbon free, clean electricity that will last for 80 to 100 years to come', Jaworowski said. 'It's extremely important for the state of Indiana to be able to deploy that energy source while we need it right now, while the federal government is helping to support the development of it and industry is ready to partner with us to help pay for it, which makes it much more affordable for Hoosiers.' Jaworowski also said Governor Braun has developed an executive order to do a state-wide water inventory and management plan. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
