Some home improvements are for looks, and some pay you back. The ones on this list are the second kind. Each lowers a utility bill, prevents a repair, or extends the life of something expensive, and each is a job Russell’s American Mechanical does in Hampton Roads homes. They are ordered roughly by what they return for what they cost, which is why the list begins in the attic rather than with new equipment.
1. Attic insulation and air sealing
The first upgrade is the least glamorous and the most reliable. ENERGY STAR estimates that sealing air leaks and adding attic insulation saves the average homeowner about 15 percent on heating and cooling costs, and in a Hampton Roads house that cools from April into October, the cooling half of that is the larger part. Many homes here built before the 1990s have less attic insulation than current recommendations call for, and what is there has settled. Adding insulation also eases the load on the heating and cooling system, and it is one of the few upgrades that improves comfort on the coldest night and the hottest afternoon alike.
2. Duct sealing
Ductwork in a coastal attic or crawl space leaks conditioned air into spaces nobody lives in, and every cubic foot lost has to be cooled or heated again. Sealing the joints and seams recovers that air, lowers the bill, and often fixes the room that never held its temperature, and in a crawl space on the water table it also stops the system from pulling damp air into the house. It is a modest job that can be done alongside duct cleaning, and it makes every other upgrade on this list work better.
3. A smart thermostat
The Department of Energy estimates that setting a thermostat back 7 to 10 degrees for eight hours a day saves as much as 10 percent a year on heating and cooling. A smart thermostat does that on a schedule, and on a heat pump it does something more valuable by raising the temperature gradually so the system does not call the expensive auxiliary strips to get there. It also reports faults, which turns a failed capacitor into a phone notification rather than a warm house, and for the cost it is the fastest return on the list.
4. A variable-speed heat pump
This is the largest investment here and the one to make when the current system is near the end of its life. A variable-speed heat pump runs at whatever capacity the house needs rather than cycling at full power, and in coastal humidity that means longer, gentler cycles that pull moisture from the air, a house that feels comfortable at a higher setting, and less electricity for the same comfort. A system from the early 2000s replaced with a current heat pump will show the difference on the summer bills. Financing is available, and it is worth asking about 10-year worry-free system coverage on a new installation.
5. A heat pump or tankless water heater
Water heating is typically the second-largest energy use in a home, and the two upgrades here attack it differently. A heat pump water heater pulls heat from the surrounding air to heat the tank, and the Department of Energy puts its efficiency at two to three times that of a conventional electric tank heater; in a coastal garage that stays warm for long stretches of the year, it works especially well. A tankless heater eliminates the standby loss of keeping a tank hot and lasts about twice as long, and it mounts on the wall above the level a garage flood reaches, which our post on switching to a tankless water heater covers. Either is a step up from a standard tank, and the right one depends on gas service and how the household uses hot water.
6. LED lighting
The Department of Energy estimates that residential LED bulbs use at least 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and last up to 25 times longer. Swapping bulbs is a weekend job; the upgrade worth an electrician’s visit is the fixtures themselves, in kitchens with a dozen recessed cans, in dock lighting that runs every night, and in older homes with fixtures never designed for LED. Our lighting team handles fixtures, dimmers, and controls, and outdoor fixtures rated for salt air outlast the ones they replace.
7. Whole-home surge protection
The last upgrade does not lower a bill; it prevents a loss. Hampton Roads sees restoration surges after every major outage and lightning surges through every summer, and each one shortens the life of the electronics in the heating and cooling system, the refrigerator, the water heater, and everything with a screen. A whole-home surge protector mounts at the panel in about an hour and costs a small fraction of the compressor it protects. For a coastal home it is less an upgrade than a correction.
Where to begin
The order above suits most homes: the envelope first, then the controls, then the equipment as it comes due, then the protection. A home evaluation can tell you which of the seven your house needs most, since a house with a well-insulated attic and leaking ducts should start in the crawl space, and one with a twelve-year-old heat pump may want to plan for item four first. Members of the Premium Home Care Agreement receive the heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical visits that surface those priorities each year.
One company for all seven
Russell’s American Mechanical has served Hampton Roads since 1977 with insulation, heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical, and generators under one roof, which means every upgrade on this list can be evaluated and installed by one company. Schedule an evaluation online, through the website chat, or by phone. The technician will tell you which upgrades would return the most for your house, at everyday pricing, and leave the order and the timing to you.