There is no denying it; the goal in the United States today is to bring our energy usage as low as we can, as soon as we can. Naturally, if you’re considering energy efficiency as one of your goals for your new Tucson home, the best times to put new energy efficient products in place is when planning a Tucson home remodeling or design build construction project.
This article will concentrate on the option of remodeling and how changes can be made to existing services and it will be centered around those ideas that make most sense to our wonderful area of the country, Tucson and Southern Arizona.
Undertaking a Tucson home remodeling project will bring unique issues to the surface and we’ll concentrate on these two:
• Water Conservation
• Solar Energy
Water conservation is key when living in the desert climate. The first step to being able to offering an energy efficient Tucson area remodeling project regarding water is to understand the area where you live and how your particular property reacts and holds on to water. This will also include the plants you plant and how they are affected by the sun and water and if they are able to survive the brutal summer months and then the two rainy seasons.
It doesn’t take much time and effort to plan out a water-efficient yard and the payoff can be beautiful. Successful water-efficient grounds won’t take much more than planning what and where you choose to plant. Start with a base map which will give an overview of your entire property and will point out where there are walkways, utility lines, irrigation needs, etc. Be able to identify different characteristics of the property that allow for water retention and which areas are drier and will need more focus. Decide what will go best where, according to your base map and have a blast making your property beautiful AND water conscious.
Solar energy has a bright future in Tucson and across Arizona, as evidenced by the many solar energy companies developing operations here. It is probably our greatest means of reusable energy and where else would it be more of a benefit than a city like Tucson located in a desert climate?
There are two ways of looking at the benefits of solar energy and how you will be able to reap the benefits of its savings. There are grid-connected solar panels in which your home is located close enough to the larger utility solar grid of the city and the excellent benefit you will receive from this type of solar energy is that when you are producing more energy via your own solar panels than you are using in your home, the excess energy is fed to the utility company and your utility bill begins to work backward, for all of the energy you provide to the community, you are basically given back free-of-charge.
The other system is off-grid photovoltaic and although you do not reap the benefits of being able to give your left over energy to a greater cause due to your geographic location, you are still going to be able to reduce your energy bills considerably; you will just be responsible for the upkeep and replacing of batteries and other equipment that may need to be changed periodically. These off-grid systems are especially beneficial for low wattage-usage jobs like outdoor lighting, electric pet fences and/or having a backup power supply source for when your main power is not functioning.
There are so many ways for people to turn to green remodeling in Tucson and some of the ideas presented were on a large scale; but don’t forget the idea that even a little can go a long way; and you will find there are smaller ways to help impact the energy conserved in a single home, which if adopted by more people as part of their design and remodeling projects could affect the entire City of Tucson . In a city that gets so much bright sunshine it might be difficult to imagine that there would be a big push for energy efficient lighting; but like everywhere else that night falls, there is always a way to improve the usage that goes into lighting a home. It is never a bad idea to turn off power when you are not using something that requires it; turning off the lights when leaving the room, putting your room lights on a designated timer or changing older light bulbs themselves for newer, cost and energy efficient ones.
There are so many different ways that can be looked at when doing a Tucson remodeling and remembering to keep things green; there were just a few mentioned in this article and every single bit keeps us closer to our goal; being able to leave a beautiful place for future generations.