This is a great start so i will add to it.
Seriously start a garden and grow easy stuff so you don’t get frustrated; kale, beans, lettuce etc
Get a killawatt meter to start monitoring what is using power to lower your bills and usage
If you live in a cold climate seal all leaky doors and windows, air exchange is a lot worst than poor insulation
Consider heating with a wood stove
In the summer cool your house at night by opening all the windows and using a powerful whole house fan then close it up in the morning to keep it cool
Wood stoves burn very inefficiently and release a lot of carbon into the air. An efficient heat pump will do a better job and be better for the environment (even if the electricity is unfortunately generated by gas or such).
Going to respectfully disagree. Modern catalytic stoves can be over 90% efficient, uses a natural source of energy that captures carbon (though burning it releases it) and is a heck of a lot cheaper to install than heat pumps. And all the power where I live is generated by natural gas which is far from clean. If someone has the money for solar panels and heat pumps then heck yea that’s the way to go but most first time home buyers don’t have that cash.
edit: I was mistaken, they make stoves over 80% efficient, not 90% efficient. I still think in the total scope of carbon emissions its better than a heat pump powered by fossil fuel electricity but it really depends on where you live, how much woods you have and where you get your power from.
Yeah maybe in a rural area that can make sense. It’s just that in an urban/suburban area a heat pump will easily get the equivalent of 300%+ efficiency (over 500% with well designed underground systems). Natural gas isn’t clean yes but at the equivalent of 300% efficiency, it’s probably better than wood, especially as the electrical grid is slowly shifted over to renewables in most places. Also should consider that while a heat pump is costly to install, they are usually warrantied for at least 10 years and probably last well beyond that with maintenance. It’s definitely expensive for now though. (swear I’m not a heat pump salesperson)
