Making energy-efficiency upgrades to your home is a smart move. With so many home energy upgrades possible, how do you know where to begin?
Using the home investment curve is a good way to begin. It can help you find the best place to start, or continue, your energy-efficient home improvement planning. The home investment curve goes from the no-cost changes in behavior that will save you energy to the easy to make, lower cost home improvements that will pay for themselves quickly. Then it helps you decide which costlier investments to make first. Click here to learn more about the home investment curve.
Regardless of which investments are next for you, ShopSmart with JEA offers a wide range of rebate programs to save you money on those home energy upgrades. Whether you’re just getting started and are replacing standard bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs, buying a new refrigerator or are ready to take the plunge and purchase a new HVAC unit, JEA has a rebate program for you. For details on rebate programs, click the links below.
Home Investment Curve
Your First Step: Do Things Differently
Before getting started on any home energy upgrade, JEA recommends you have take a look at – and take steps toward – making the no cost (behavioral) changes outlined in the “Save Energy, Water And Money At Home” tip sheet. These tips help you start saving money before you spend a dime. Download the tip sheet by clicking here or check out our library of energy and water efficiency fact sheets.
What’s Next? Tier Two: Low Cost Investments
Tier two investments pay for themselves quickly by saving you money on your energy bill, usually in less than one year. These are also usually low-cost upgrades. Here are a few examples of tier two investments.
- Weatherizing
- Proper HVAC Refrigerant Charging
- HVAC Preventative Maintenance
- Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFL)
- Water Heater Blanket
- Water Heater Heat Trap
- Pipe Wrap
- Water Heater Timer
- Programmable Thermostat
Read our fact sheet on programmable thermostats.
Tier Three Investments
These energy-efficiency upgrades should be considered next. They have a good return on your investment (ROI) and you can expect that in three to five years, you will have saved enough money on your energy bill to make up for the cost of the upgrade. Examples include:
Tier Four Investments
These upgrades will definitely help you use less energy. You can expect the ROI on these upgrades will take more than five years. These are the kinds of upgrades to consider especially when you are ready to replace your old appliances. Examples include:
Tier Five Investments
These home energy-efficiency upgrades take the longest to recover your initial investment costs.
- Photovoltaic (PV)
- Low-E Windows
- Geo-Thermal HVAC
For more information on investment curve upgrades, check out our Home Investment Curve Factsheet.
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