Greening to sell

Energy efficient updates are all the rage right now, but which ones will help you sell your home at a better price?

By Alexandra Gallucci CTW Features

Making green improvements on your home not only helps the environment, but it can also equate to sizable cost savings on your energy bill and your taxes. There are many options available when it comes to updating your home, but here are some points to consider if you want to determine which projects to tackle first.

Theres a lot of places you can start when remodeling or updating a home, especially if youre getting ready to sell it, but the main places are around energy efficiency, says Kane Sutphin, marketing director at TreeHouse, a green home improvement store in Austin, Texas. That helps customers find green alternatives to building and remodeling.

Homeowners are increasingly concerned with their energy bills, and for good reason. The average household spends at least $2,000 a year on energy costs more than half of which goes to heating and cooling, according to the most recent Buildings and their Impact on the Environment report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

For older homes, I think its very important that they have some of those upgrades because buyers whether theyd like a new home or theyre buying an older home are going to look at the energy costs, and the more they can save on energy costs, the more they can put toward the mortgage, so the more home they can buy, says Jim Liptak, regional vice president of the National Association of Realtors.

When it comes to energy efficiency, the most important improvement you can make on your home is to seal your air ducts, says Kristof Irwin, owner and lead building scientist of Positive Energy, a building science consulting company in Austin. Although duct sealing can be a difficult process, it can pay for itself in as few as three months, Irwin says.

Energy Star, the EPAs energy efficiency program, estimates that homeowners can save up to 20 percent on heating and cooling costs by sealing air leaks and adding insulation to their attic.

Having a non-leaky air distribution system, which includes your ducts and your mechanical equipment itself, has positive effects for health, comfort, safety, durability and energy efficiency, Irwin says. Only after sealing your ducts should a homeowner consider investing in new HVAC equipment, he says. Energy Star recommends replacement of heating systems that are more than 15 years old. Todays high efficiency units operate at more than 90 percent efficiency. Regardless of the type or age of your equipment, changing your systems air filter every month will improve its efficiency.

But if youre looking to make less costly improvements, here are some suggestions:

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Greening to sell