Thinking of ways to reduce your expenses? Consider making your home more energy efficient – that is, if you haven’t yet. Energy efficiency means being able to do the same things using less time and energy, leading to savings as far as your energy bill goes.
If you want to effectively increase your energy efficiency, though, you shouldn’t just use less energy. You need to understand how you use it and for what, and what can cause wasted energy. Besides hiring a licensed electrician to inspect your home’s electrical system and ensure it’s running well, here are some tips you can use to save energy.
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Improve Your Home’s Air Seal
Cracks, gaps, and leaks in your home’s exterior means that outside air can get in, either raising the inside temperature during warmer months, and lowering it in colder months. This means your HVAC system needs to work a bit more to bring the temperature to something more comfortable for your family.
To combat this, just seal those cracks and, if needed, add insulation. These small changes can save as much as 10% on heating and cooling costs.
Use Natural Light Whenever Possible
Sunlight is all around you and can light up your home as well as your ceiling lights can – plus, it’s free. So open shades or blinds and draw the curtains during the daytime, and turn the lights on once it starts getting dark. Lighting makes up around 12% of the typical residential bill, so not using all the lights all throughout the day can save you at least a few dollars per month.
Let Nature Help with Heating and Cooling
This may sound at odds with the tip about improving your home’s air seal, but that’s to prevent any outside air from getting inside when you don’t want it. Once that’s done, there’s nothing wrong with letting nature give you a hand in cooling or warming your home.
During the warmer months, try closing the drapes, curtains, or blinds on the side of your home that gets full sunlight so your AC doesn’t have to work much harder to keep things cool. During colder months, open those same shades and let warmth from the sunlight take some of the burden from your heater.
Get A Programmable Thermostat
Automating the heating and cooling process can help shave a few dollars off your energy bill. This is because a programmable thermostat will automatically adjust the temperature based on your schedule, and even keep certain rooms warmer or cooler depending on how often they’re used. Heating or cooling rooms only as needed will do a lot to improve your home’s energy efficiency.
Don’t Leave Appliances Plugged In All Day
Many appliances can turn out to be energy vampires, meaning they ‘suck’ energy from your system even if they’re not turned on. Obviously, this is a waste of electricity. So, turn off appliances and gadgets when you’re not using them and unplug them. Then, you can be sure of using energy only when you need it.