18 Home upgrades to meet your New Year’s resolutions

Composting helps you turn your food scraps into nutrient-rich soil, which in turn grows new food—talk about the circle of life! If you’re into gardening or are hoping to do more of it in the New Year, using compost can save you money on water, fertilizers, and pesticides. 

Your health will also thank you for avoiding gardening products often filled with harmful chemicals.

A great thing about composting is that the upfront investment varies based on how much you want to be involved. You can get a small compost bin for your kitchen for less than $30, spend upwards of $500 on a big, fancy composter that rotates the soil on its own, or find something in between.

Switching to low-flow faucets and toilets is one of the greatest options on this list because it’s a low-cost investment that can become a high reward for your wallet and the planet. Low-flow faucets became the standard in the late ‘90s, but if you have outdated fixtures it’s time for an upgrade.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates the average household wastes 9,400 gallons of water and spends $1,000 on water bills each year. Low-flow faucets only cost between $10 and $20 and can bring water savings of 25%-60%. Tack on a low-flow toilet to save an additional 10% and you’re looking at a max savings of around $700 per year.

Cut down on water expenses by using the free stuff that falls from the sky. Rainwater harvesting can be as simple as putting a bucket in your yard or as complex as installing a professional rainwater harvesting system. Use this water for plants, flushing toilets, or washing cars, clothes, or windows. (Important: rainwater is generally unsafe to drink unless properly filtered.)

The financial benefits vary depending on how involved you want to be and how much it rains in your area. Considering the average American uses 82 gallons of water daily, a little effort can go a long way. For example, a Redditor claims to save $30+ monthly by collecting rainwater in gallon water jugs to use for their indoor plants—that’s about $360 in annual water bill savings from a $1 jug.

Large barrels cost between $75-$200 (some cities offer rain barrel rebates), while installing a professional rainwater system can cost anywhere from $1,000 to upwards of $20,000 and save you 40-50% on your water bill.

Replacing outdoor lighting with solar-powered lights is a small investment that can help you save money and peace of mind—you’ll never have to worry about accidentally leaving the lights on. The cost savings from LED outdoor lights to solar lights isn’t much, typically between $30 and $100 per year, but money is money. Plus, you can feel good about using an eco-friendly resource to power your lights rather than standard electricity that relies on fossil fuels.

Did you know that indoor air can be two to five (or up to 100) times more polluted than outdoor air? It’s concerning, considering that we spend a lot of time indoors. Fortunately, adding air purifiers to your home is a relatively low-cost solution to cleaner, safer indoor air.

Price tags range from $50-$500 depending on the size, power, and quality of an air purifier, but one thing you shouldn’t skip out on is the high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. HEPA filters remove at least 99.97% of dust, pollen, mold, bacteria, and particles from indoor air. While there aren’t many immediate savings from investing in air purifiers, the lower risk of sickness can become medical bill savings.

If becoming a plant parent is on your New Year’s resolution list, we recommend adding air-purifying plants like peace lilies, spider, and snake plants. Not only are they a beautiful addition, but studies show they can reduce indoor air pollutants and naturally increase humidity, which can nix the spread of airborne viruses—likely not as well as HEPA air purifiers, but still a benefit.

Plus, research suggests having houseplants can improve our stress and anxiety levels and make us happier overall.

A whopping 90% of U.S. homes are under-insulated, according to the EPA. Poor insulation and sealing allow air to seep through walls, windows, and doors; wasting energy and minimizing comfort, especially during heat waves and cold spells. It can also prevent polluted air, allergens, dust, and mold from coming in.

The EPA says homeowners save 11% on energy costs on average when they add insulation and air sealing. Project costs vary greatly depending on size and scope—for example, air sealing your ducts may cost about $200, while insulating your attic and basement could cost upwards of $7,000. Most insulation companies will come by to give you a free estimate so you can compare quotes. Or, explore DIY options if you don’t mind a project. We recommend starting with a home energy audit (professional or DIY) to find air leaks.

Heat gain and loss through outdated window glass accounts for 25-30% of your home’s heating or air conditioning. That’s roughly $200–$600 wasted annually for the average household, so in this case, you’re literally throwing money out the window.

Replacing single-pane windows with double- or triple-pane, low-E glass can reduce air loss and lower your HVAC bills by as much as $600 a year. Plus, most energy-efficient windows are made from more sustainable materials and will last longer, making them a more environmentally friendly choice.

New windows aren’t cheap, but you can get a tax credit worth up to $600 on your purchase of ENERGY STAR-certified windows or up to $250 on ENERGY STAR-certified doors under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). You may also qualify for extra ENERGY STAR rebates.

Air-source heat pumps or “mini-splits” are an all-electric, energy-efficient alternative to outdated HVAC systems. Despite their name, heat pumps provide heat and air conditioning to your home.

Heating and cooling the home costs the average American about $865 every year (about 50% of energy bills). Heat pumps cost a pretty penny, but a 2024 study by the National Renewable Energy Library (NREL) found that homeowners saw a median annual savings of $300-$650 by switching to a heat pump from an electric, fuel oil, or propane heating source.

Plus, the government offers heat pump tax credits and rebates because they’re so energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.

Solar water heaters rely on free electricity from the sun to heat water for your showers, faucets, laundry, and more. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) states you’ll see a 50-80% drop in your water bills by installing a solar water heater; expect an annual savings of around $261 if you’re switching from a natural gas water heater or $421 from an electric water heater.

If a full solar panel system isn’t in the budget, switching to a solar water heater is a great way to explore the benefits of solar at a lower cost—they typically run between $3,000 and $5,000 or roughly $100 per square foot. Solar water heaters are also eligible for the 30% IRA tax credit.

These days, it’s hard to buy a new appliance that isn’t energy efficient—the benefits are well-known. But if you’re hanging on to that old stove or dishwasher from the late ‘90s, maybe 2025 is the year for an upgrade. The DOE says most households save $450 on energy bills by switching to energy-efficient products, which may include a:

• Dishwasher

• Refrigerator

• Freezer

• Washer

• Dryer

• Stove/oven

• Dehumidifier

• Air cleaner

• Ceiling fan

• Light fixture

• Electric vehicle (EV) charger

• Pool pump

• TV

• and more.

About 15% of your electricity use comes from lighting. Chances are high your New Year’s resolutions don’t involve sitting in the dark, so one the fastest ways to cut down on those costs is to switch to LED lightbulbs.

LED lights use 90% less energy and last 25 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs, and they only cost about $3-$6 per bulb (one of the most affordable on this list). Upgrading to LED lights is truly a no-brainer.

Forget to shut off your heat or AC after you leave the house? No problem—you can do it from your home with most Smart thermostats. These thermostats can be set to follow a certain schedule or, if you let them, automatically adjust to meet your needs based on patterns—now that’s smart tech.

Upgrading to a smart thermostat is another lower-cost investment that can lead to significant savings. Most devices run $100-$300 and you may even be eligible for rebates. 

The DOE says Energy Star thermostats cut heating and cooling bills by about 8%, which is about $75 in savings for the average household that spends $900 annually on heating and cooling.

While Smart thermostats are great for temperature control, investing in a few more devices can give you full-home automation to increase your energy and cost savings. Smart home automation devices may include appliances, HVAC, lighting, and security systems.

Smart home investments can cut your annual energy usage by 2,880 kilowatt-hours (kWh), according to a recent study. That leads to $460.80 in savings for the average American household that pays $0.16 per kWh of electricity.

Reduce water waste in your garden or lawn with a smart irrigation controller that adjusts watering based on weather and soil conditions. Costs vary depending on what you already have set up; You might get away with a $50 WiFi-enabled irrigation controller that can plug into your old system. However, if you're looking to install a total smart irrigation system, expect to pay between $3,000-$5,000, potentially more depending on the size of your yard.

If you’re hoping to really see your energy bills drop in 2025, installing solar panels is the best way to get there. The average $30,000 price tag of solar may give you sticker shock, but that number is reduced to about $20,900 after the federal tax credit, and other incentives can lower it even further. Besides, you don’t have to pay it all at once—you can stack up your electricity savings to pay off your solar loan.

Solar technology provides energy for your home without relying on fossil fuels, which can help reduce harmful emissions and improve air quality in and around your home.

You can purchase a home battery with or without solar panels, but combining them can help your electricity bills drop to zero (or close to it).

A backup battery installation typically costs between $11,000 and $14,000 (depends on brand and battery size), which is a big investment. But, that price drops by 30% with the federal tax credit, and savings grow further when you factor in solar battery incentives and rebates. Batteries also provide a level of energy independence that many homeowners enjoy.

If you’re less concerned about backup power but want the cost-saving benefits of energy storage, you can save roughly $3,000 by installing a consumption-only battery. You won’t have power during blackouts, but you can pull power from this battery at night, which is especially helpful if your electricity rates fluctuate during certain times of the day.