5 Resources To Help Homeowners With Energy Efficiency

With a growing awareness of wasteful production and consumption habits, consumers are increasingly looking for solutions for living more sustainably. Much of the focus revolves around the home, where renewed attention is being paid to the environmental and economic impacts of building materials, appliance use, and energy expenditure. In no particular order, here are some resources for homeowners striving to cut back on both their carbon footprints and their utility bills.

For #1 we get Arcadia, a free tech platform that makes clean energy accessible nationwide. It was founded by Kiran Bhatraju, who, after growing up in the coal-dominated Appalachian region, realized there had to be a better way to power our homes. Today, he and his team partner with solar developers and wind farms across the country, providing customers with both sustainable energy and reduced power bills.

To use the Arcadia platform, customers create a free account and connect it to their existing utility. The platform then matches them with clean energy projects in their area, such as wind or solar, and provides an easy way to track impact and savings on a digital dashboard. Because of its work, the company claims to have averted the equivalent of over 1.4 million tons of CO2.

Arriving at #2 is Open Eco Homes. A project of the local Cambridge Carbon Footprint charity, this British initiative works to help people create beautiful, high-functioning, and low-energy homes. It does this by identifying people who have renovated or built new eco abodes, and organizing open tours in their houses to inform visitors about sustainable living.

The group looks for homes that demonstrate the many ways of saving energy and cutting carbon emissions. These include low-cost or DIY energy-saving measures, controlled ventilation, new technologies, and reused and low-carbon building materials. Around the same time as the tours, Open Eco Homes also runs multiple free workshops to help people build their skills and knowledge.

For #3 we come to Smappee, an all-in-one energy management system for commercial, industrial, and residential use. The system gathers production and consumption data down to the appliance level, analyzing the real-time use of electricity, solar power, gas, and water. It also allows users to control their energy flows through tailored automations and compatibility with smart devices and services.

Smappee helps keep an overview of all the energy flows in a user's home, whether from solar panels, batteries, an electric car, or a heat pump, and allows for the remote operation of connected appliances. The platform's dynamic load balancing technology can even direct energy to E.V. chargers to provide additional efficiency and optimization.

Showing up at #4 is SunBug. Serving Massachusetts, this full-service local solar energy company offers consultation, system design, financing options, and turnkey installations. Founded in 2009 and a Certified B Corporation since 2018, it has installed over 1,000 solar systems of various sizes across the state, including ones for both residential and commercial use.

The employee-owned company works with a range of panel, racking, and inverter manufacturers and distributors to deliver its services. To make homeowners' transitions to solar as easy as possible, it provides free in-person evaluations, detailed proposals, and designs that take into account all technical and aesthetic considerations. SunBug also offers various maintenance and specialty services.

Finally, for #5 we find the Metal Roofing Alliance, a leading voice for companies and professionals involved in the eponymous residential roofing industry. The group is dedicated to helping homeowners make educated investment decisions and connecting them with experts in the field. Spanning Canada and the US, its member companies comprise manufacturers, material suppliers, and media partners.

The Alliance claims that metal is the most environmentally friendly and sustainable roofing material available, as it is energy efficient and almost entirely recyclable. Additionally, it can complement nearly any architectural style, and provides durability to protect from extreme weather. Companies from the Alliance provide residential metal roofing in a wide range of materials, coatings, and paint options.