7 Tips for Making Your Home More Energy Efficient
Reducing your energy usage is one of the easiest ways to save money. Your utility bills may be a necessary evil, but there are plenty of things you can do to make them less painful.
Tighten up your home’s insulation, clean out your refrigerator coils and pick energy-efficient light bulbs. You’ll save on your bills and protect the environment at the same time.
Here are 7 tips for making your home more energy efficient:
1. Switch off lights when you leave a room
It’s an old trick, but it works — turn off the lights when you leave a room or go to bed. It only takes a few minutes out of your day, but it can save quite a bit of energy. Use solar panels to effectively save up more on your consumption, but how much are solar panels? Well, the prices vary but finding the right one is more important than finding the affordable costs.
2. Use appliances at off-peak hours
Many utilities offer lower rates during off-peak hours — so try doing laundry or running dishwashers and washing machines then instead of in the evening when everyone’s watching TV.
3. Seal air leaks around windows and doors
A well-sealed house saves on heating and cooling costs by keeping warm air in during winter and cool air in during summer months — and is much more comfortable for its inhabitants to boot.
4. Purchase Energy-Efficient Appliances
If you’re in the market for new appliances — or even if you aren’t — one of the best things you can do is purchase Energy Star-certified products. These appliances won’t cost any more than their non-Energy Star counterparts, and they’ll use far less energy, which means they’ll cost less to operate over time.
5. Turn Off Lights and Unplug Electronics
Do you ever find yourself leaving lights on when you’re not in a room? Or do you leave your television or computer plugged in after it has finished charging? Probably so — we all do this from time to time, but these little things can really add up over the course of a month (or year). Instead of leaving them on.
6. Insulate your hot water heater
An uninsulated water tank will lose up to 30% of its heat by the time it reaches the tap. To insulate it properly, wrap an electric blanket or foam insulation around the entire tank and secure it tightly with duct tape.
Keep ceiling fans running in reverse during the winter months. While you may feel a blast of cold air from the blades when you reverse them, this actually helps warm air travel down from the ceiling towards the floor, which will help keep everyone warmer overall.
7. Install a programmable thermostat
A programmable thermostat allows you to pre-set temperatures and times for your home’s heating and cooling systems, which can help save you money on your electric bill while still keeping everyone comfortable in their own homes throughout the day and night.
When it comes to potential home energy savings, the opportunities are vast — and so are the savings. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that homeowners can save up to 20% of their annual cooling and heating costs by making a few easy changes to their homes.