Every year we all want to improve our lives. Sometimes we plan to enjoy a nice vacation in the sun. Other times we join a gym and try to eat healthier. And for a lot of us to improve our lives we want something that will make life a little easier each day. We often buy different products aimed at improving our day to day or upgrading existing products with new features!
Personally I find myself looking at new smart TV’s. Ones that not only get me network television, but also turn on when I walk by them or give me a visual on what is in my fridge so I don’t have to open it 5 times when I am being indecisive about what to eat. The inside view of the fridge is helpful to save on energy instead of letting all that cool air out (or at least that’s what I tell myself).
Each year things in my house get older and eventually I have to replace them. They all have different lifespans and home maintenance is often required too. I hope that they all don’t break down in the same year. One year I may have to replace my water heater, the next my air conditioner or electric range. As I do like to reduce my electric bill I have a couple factors I like to consider:
Does it save on energy?
Any time i go to upgrade my home I want to try to save on electricity so I can lower my power bill. Usually when I buy something that saves on energy it may also have a government rebate available. Some of the maritime provinces in Canada have great programs. Efficiency NS and Efficiency PEI both offer many rebates including solar rebates and heating rebates.
How reliable is it?
I do not want to have to have to replace my new home improvement too regularly. When judging what I want to improve I will tend to have a look at what kind of warranty the product offers. A warranty is a good gauge for the lifespan of product. A supplier will typically only cover a certain length of time because that shows their confidence on when they think it might break down.
Heres some typical warranty lengths you can expect:
Water Heaters – 6-12 years
TV’s – 1-2 years
Heat pump – 10 years
Hot tubs – 5 years
Air conditioners – 15 years
Household appliance – 1 year
Let’s say you are trendy and want to get in on the electric car revolution. Another product that is going to now add to that electric bill. The cars typically have a warranty of about 8 years.
You may have noticed that all the upgrades I have been talking about are about being energy efficient. But they all do consume electricity.
There is however one home improvement that is environmentally friendly, focuses on green energy, usually has government rebates and saves you on electricity costs.
Solar Panels
How long do solar panels last? Well the typical warranty is 25 years! This means that you will have replaced most of those products I listed above multiple times before you ever have to replace your panels. Better yet, those panels are supplying all of the other products with the electricity they need.
If you get solar panels Nova scotia or PEI there are typically pretty great rebates to reduce your installation costs. Many other provinces in Canada are also offering different solar incentives to get green energy solutions.
If you want to learn more about the reliability of solar panels check out https://sunly.ca/blog/are-solar-panels-reliable