How to improve the energy efficiency of an older home

How To Improve Energy Efficiency in an Older House

With newly built homes, energy efficiency is now considered one of the most important features. But older homes simply don’t have the same energy-saving features that we do now. That being said, if you live in an older house, you may be used to paying higher utility bills. This doesn’t have to be the case anymore! There is a range of things that you can do to make your older home more energy efficient and save on your pnm bill. Here are some of the simple things you can do to improve the energy efficiency of an older house.

Woman replacing old lightbulbs with LEDs

Replace your light bulbs to improve energy efficiency

This is one of the easiest and most affordable things you can do to make your home more energy-efficient. If you are still using the older style light bulbs, swap them out with modern LED lights. These can save up to six times as much energy. Not to mention, they won’t give off as much heat. This will also help to keep your home nice and cool, especially in the summer.

You could also add a new lighting system to your home. By installing things like motion sensor switches, you can make sure that the lights are turned off if the room is empty without having to think about it. You can also get systems that allow you to control your lighting from a smartphone app. This means you can turn your lights off if you forgot to do so before more. Or you can even turn your lights on when you aren’t home at night to deter robbers.

OhmConnect sign-up

Hook your energy utility service up to OhmConnect

OhmConnect is a free service that rewards you with giftcards or PayPal cashouts simply by reducing your energy usage. Once you hook your utility service up to OhmConnect, it automatically tracks what you save. After that, Ohm will start sending you Ohm Hour alerts. These alerts are Ohm’s way of trying to reduce the energy usage during certain peak times. You will earn “Watts” for how much energy you save during these Ohm hours which can be used to redeem rewards. During the summer, you can expect to see an Ohm Hour a few times a week – making it super easy to rack up rewards quickly. Last summer, I cashed out $75 in one month because of the energy I saved. It’s kind of a win-win honestly. You’re reducing your energy bill AND getting rewarded for it.

Replace showers, faucets, and toilets

Older toilets use a lot more water each time you flush them than more modern ones. You may also have leaky faucets and shower heads in an older home. These are all fairly simple and affordable to replace, and modern low-flow toilets can significantly reduce the amount of water that you use.

Solar power on a house can greatly improve the energy efficiency of your home

Look at alternative sources of energy to improve energy efficiency

While these cost more upfront, alternative sources of energy can save you big money in the long run. By switching to geothermal, wind, or solar energy, you will reduce your energy bill significantly. Of course, where you live plays a big part in the type of alternative energy that is best for you. But it is a great thing to do for both the environment and your bank account.

Fix gaps and leaks in windows and doors or replace them

In many households, windows and doors are the biggest sources of leaked air. Many older houses have the original single pane windows, or older versions of double-glazing, which are pretty ineffective at keeping air in. Older wooden doors also tend to warp and shrink because of humidity and fluctuating temperatures. The drafts caused by this will make it incredibly cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Swapping these out for new, more energy-efficient windows and doors will make your improve the energy efficiency of your older home.

As well as saving you money, making energy-efficient changes to your older house also reduces the impact that you have on the environment. It will also greatly increase the value of your home as a whole!


Evercool from Rest Duvet coupon code

Does Evercool Really Work For Hot Sleepers?

Like Rob Thomas sang in “Smooth” by Santana, man it’s a HOT one! Now that my husband and I own our own condo, we needed an efficient way to cool ourselves at night. And turning the AC way down was not the solution. A cooling comforter was! Specifically the Evercool Cooling Comforter from Rest Duvet. But does Evercool really work?

This blog contains affiliate links. Read on and you will receive 30% off of Rest Duvet by simply being a Donna Gail Blog reader!

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About Evercool

Before we even got the Evercool, I had even wondered if cooling comforters even exist. But boy do they! We recently got the Evercool cooling comforter from Rest. Shockingly enough, it has only been available for close to a year now. Since then, it has already been recommended by Healthline and Goodhousekeeping as one of the best cooling comforters of 2023! Based on those two recommendations alone, I was convinced it could help my husband not be a hot sleeper anymore. Honestly he radiates heat and always wants to cuddle me. I love him to pieces but my goodness I cannot stand how hot he makes our bed feel.

Just upon opening the package, we were both shocked at how cool it actually was. It felt like it had just been taken out of the fridge. It is cooler than cotton, bamboo, silk, and Tencel! Not only that, but it was super soft.

And if you think that was all it was good for, there’s more! It’s also got three times the moisture wicking power compared to regular comforters. Hand in hand with that is that it is quick-drying making caring and washing it a breeze. Needless to say, we were excited to see if it lived up to it’s hype. So.. does Evercool really work for hot sleepers?

Evercool cooling comforter from Rest Duvet

Our Trial Run

Our previous solution for hot nights was to swap out our thick comforter for a thin blanket. Although that was a better solution than keeping the thick comforter, it still didn’t help as much. We immediately put Evercool on our bed and kept all of our sleeping habits exactly the same. Same bamboo sheets, same amount of pillows on the bed, and the AC set to 76 degrees.

Hopping in to bed for the first time, it still felt like the comforter was just cold on its own. Both my husband and I slept great that night. I didn’t feel like the bed was overheating because of him being a hot sleeper. I also felt like I had uninterrupted sleep because I wasn’t waking up from being hot.

After trying it for a week, I don’t think my husband wants to go back to any other blanket. He likes to say that he’s a little “cold burrito” when he’s wrapped up in Evercool. And for me, on some nights I felt like it did TOO good of a job and I had to rely on getting another blanket to warm me back up! But I run pretty cold as it is (my husband hates it when I touch him with my cold feet and hands). As an added bonus, our husky also likes taking his naps on our comforter now too, and that’s not something he normally does.

Overall Thoughts about Evercool Cooling Comforter

I would definitely recommend using Evercool to others if you want to sleep less hot, have less night sweat, less waking up due to overheating, or just want to lower your AC bill. And if that bright blue color that Evercool is known for isn’t your bedroom aesthetic, they just released a brand new grey color! In short, yes Evercool really works.

Get 30% off of the most effective cooling comforters – the Evercool Cooling Comforter from Rest Duvet! This coupon code is the highest verified discount and is ONLY available to readers here. The link provided will give you 30% off on anything on Rest Duvet. PLEASE NOTE: The code will be automatically applied at checkout. You will not see the code applied just be looking at the listing. Once added to your cart, proceed to checkout and you will see the discount applied at the section where you put in your shipping information.

And if you want more honest Rest Duvet reviews, click that link.