4 Ways To Increase Your Vacation Cabin's Energy Efficiency
Looking for ways to make your vacation cabin more energy efficient and comfortable to spend time in? Here are four effective options to consider:
Invest in a Solar Kit
Nowadays you can purchase complete solar kits that come with everything you need to power your cabin — all you have to do is put the kit together as intended and install it. Installing a solar kit as opposed to buying one that has to be installed by the company on-site can save you a lot of money on your initial investment while providing you with the same quality power source. Even installing a small solar system that powers your lights alone will save you money on energy costs throughout the year, increase your cabin's value, and decrease your overall carbon footprint.
The great thing about solar kits that you install yourself is that you can easily add on to them when your budget allows. You'll already have resources like deep cycle batteries and inverters in place, so your ongoing solar investments should be more affordable than your initial one. You may even get discounts for ongoing investments if you continue buying from the same company as time goes on.
Contact a company like Renogy to learn more about these kits.
Replace Your Appliances
Replacing your kitchen appliances with Energy Star rated options is an excellent way improve your household's energy efficiency while saving yourself up to 50 percent on your appliance power costs. You can also expect your new Energy Star appliances to save you some water and to reduce the greenhouse gasses that your cabin emits as time goes on. If you can't replace all of the appliances throughout your cabin, replace the ones you use most when spending time there and have a technician tune up the older ones that you'll be keeping. If they're in need of a makeover, you can always treat them with epoxy appliance spray paint to give them a new look that matches your newer appliances.
Spiff Up Your Windows
For optimal comfort during both the summer and winter months, you can make a few updates to your cabin's windows to increase energy efficiency and make temperature control easier. Start by putting some solar insulation film on each of the windows to improve heat loss and gain year-round and to protect the interior of your cabin from fading and damage due to ultraviolet rays.
Once the insulation film is in place, consider installing new window treatments inside. Honeycomb shades are an awesome choice because they're attractive and they trap air that tries to come through your window in their individual cells so it can't make its way into your cabin.
Plantation shutters are another effective choice as they are designed to block the transfer of heat from the outdoors during the summer and from the indoors during the winter. You can paint them after they've been installed to match the rest of your cabin's décor. If your cabin is made of traditional wood, use a bright color like yellow or red to brighten things up. If your cabin has a more modern look and feel, neutral colors such as beige should be an attractive compliment.
Improve Your Landscaping
If your property isn't already located in a dense forest area or planted with lots of foliage, you'll find that by planting new shrubs, trees, and even vines can go a long way when it comes to improving the energy efficiency of your cabin. They'll provide you with lots of shade in the summer and act as an insulator in the winter.
Your new trees, hedges, and vines will even act as windbreaks and protect your cabin from exterior damage due to extreme weather elements. And landscaping with trees can even increase your overall property value by about 20 percent. Consider planting fruit trees near your home for shade and vine veggies along your fence line as a windbreak to take advantage of free food throughout the year.
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