[cyann]

If you are a homeowner, first start with your own house.

1. Insulation

2. Heat pump

3. Solar panels (more the better)

Depending on your location, this will be amortized in ~7 years, which is like 14%/year return rate. Excellent investment!

With some added benefits:

- Better climate control (less cold in winter, less hot in summer)

- Charge the car/bike for free

- Some green washing points to brag about ;-)

[jillesvangurp]

There are a couple of good reasons to invest as a homeowner:

- increase the value of your house - this is often overlooked and e.g. banks don't necessarily value this enough. But the effect is very real when you sell a house in a tight market.

- Lowering your bills and benefit from tax incentives or even profit from selling energy back to the grid. This is pretty obvious. Not a lot not to like here. Of course you need financing and some rough idea of how long it takes to earn back your money.

- Energy independence is nice to have; especially if you are in a place where local energy suppliers are not that reliable. And even if that isn't the case, the additional safety can be nice.

- Reduce the impact you have on climate. For some people this is the primary motivation and some early adopters paid a steep price for this even.

Depending on your goals, you'd start with different things.