August 2017 - Gervais Electric

If you’re thinking about selling your home in the near future, you may want to consider making some electrical improvements first. You should not rely on your home’s charm and appeal alone to help it sell. Just because you already know all your home’s selling features doesn’t mean they are obvious to potential buyers. Besides, you can use electrical improvements to boost your property’s function and increase your asking price. Check out the following fall electrical home improvements that will make your home more noticeable and appealing to potential buyers.

Upgrade the Appliances

You may not have given much thought about your appliances before today. But if the ones you currently have are not Energy Star rated, then you’ve been missing out on savings and dealing with higher than usual energy bills. It doesn’t matter if you plan on keeping your appliances when you move or not. If you plan to take them with you, you can still use them to stage your home before you go to get better offers. If you decide to leave them with the property, you could spark new interest because buyers love the idea of getting extras. The mere thought of getting a great home with Energy Star certified appliances already included is an excellent selling point.

Install Ceiling Fans

Ceiling Fans help to lower heating and cooling costs. They are also a feature that can help sell your home because they are already installed, and buyers don’t have to do anything to them. Be sure to choose ceiling fans that add to the look inside of your home. Not some random and ordinary ceiling fans that will make buyers want to tear them out.

Add Ground Circuit Breakers

If your home only has a few ground breakers or none, you should consider installing more. They are ideal for areas where you need to plug things up, and there is water in the area. Popular areas for ground circuit breakers include bathrooms, kitchens, decks, and basements. Keep in mind that you are not limited to those areas. They are just common places people install them. Even though you are adding them with potential buyers in mind, they make your home safer for you too.

Update the Lighting

You really can’t go wrong with new lighting fixtures. When it comes to interior design and staging homes, lighting is one of the most important features that can make or break a deal. You may want to refer to some online design galleries and shops for fixture ideas and lighting motivation. Don’t just focus on the inside of your home. Share the love and update your outdoor lighting too.

Get Creative With Fall Electrical Home Improvements

You may have certain things in mind when making fall electrical home improvements to your home. However, you should not overlook function when you’re making cosmetic improvements. Plan your project out. Don’t rush or make hasty decisions that may cause you to have regrets or redo.

Even though you plan to sell your home, don’t expect your upgrades to sell your home the very first day. Before you put your home on the market, make sure you learn about everything that goes into selling a home. It is important for you to have realistic expectations so you can better plan your selling strategies for better results. Last but not, ask your electrician for an evaluation and recommendations. Sometimes it’s best to get professional opinions from experts so you can better use your energy and resources on tactics that work well.

Gervais Electric is the one-stop shop for all your fall electrical home improvements advice. From rewiring to electrical upgrades and more, you can count on us. Call us today at 615-965-8420.

How Smart Is Your Home?

Programmable thermostats take all the guesswork out of trying to regulate the temperature in your home. They are very easy to use and can save you up to $200 a year. They work by turning on your heating and cooling devices when you’re home and awake and turning them down when you’re not. If you’re not familiar with programmable devices, then there is a small learning curve you’ll need to master.

Initially, you’ll set the thermostat by hand from the first few days so the device can learn your preferences. Afterward, it’ll automatically warm and cool your home according to the information it stored from your manual adjustments. Keep in mind that if your home is drafty or takes a long time to heat or cool, the thermostat will modify its performance for better comfort and efficiency. If you’re looking for some good brands of programmable thermostats, Nest, Honeywell and ecobee are good ones to consider.

Getting Rid of the Old Kitchen Appliances

Many people would be surprised to learn that some of their favorite and oldest kitchen appliances are robbing their homes of energy. Almost 20 percent of your home’s energy use comes from the appliances. Your energy usage may be slightly higher depending on how old your appliances are.

The easiest and most cost-efficient way for you to keep your devices from wasting so much energy is to upgrade them. Replace them with Energy-Star certified equipment. Once you do, you’ll notice some great improvements in your energy bills. They’ll be much lower. You’ll also get to enjoy some of the newer features that come with new appliances that can make your household much easier to manage.

Don’t Stop With the Kitchen Appliances

Take a good look at the other appliances in your home like the water heater, washing machine, and dryers. If those devices are more than 8-10 years old, you should consider replacing them. If you think you’ve got a few years of life left in your water heater, keep this in mind. Traditional water heaters constantly use energy to keep your water warm, so it’s easier to heat up when you need it. New tankless water heaters use considerably less energy because they heat the water you need on demand. There’s no energy being wasted on heating the water in a tank because it doesn’t have one.

We know it can be a bit expensive to replace several household appliances at once, which is why we recommend you do a few at a time. Either way, if you’re planning to live in your current home for the next several years, you’ll save more money with newer, Energy-Star rated appliances.

Get an Electrical Wiring Audit

Sometimes the biggest drain on your household energy is an electrical problem. Because electrical problems can be hard for the average person to define, we recommend for you to have an electrician to assess your home’s wiring. They can inform you about any problems that exist, such as damaged or faulty wiring, not enough electrical sockets and low voltage for your home’s electrical needs.

For more advice on how to get your home ready for the cooler months, give us at Gervais Electric a call at 615-965-8420.

Month: August 2017

Fall Electrical Home Improvements