All households run on a budget, even if some have a more substantial budget than others. And you will never find any homeowners who are not excited about finding simple ways to reduce their monthly expenses. Especially when those frugal tips do not include giving up something enjoyable or altering the comfort level, most homeowners are all in to give the tips a try. And equally as exciting as saving money is reducing your home’s impact on the environment using less power.
Cutting HVAC Costs
Even though most home’s HVAC systems are the number one consumer of electricity, homeowners are very opposed to giving up their level of climate-controlled comfort. Fortunately, the following tips will not alter how warm or cool your home feels. And some will even help you to increase your comfort level while saving you money. Here are a few tips to get the most out of your heating and cooling budget:
- Inspect and repair or replace any damaged seals around doors and windows. Keeping your valuable warmed or cooled air in your house will help keep your electric bill at a reasonable level.
- Move furniture that is blocking vents or registers in your home. This will allow your heated and cooled air to circulate more efficiently throughout your home. You will see your comfort level increase and your energy bill decrease.
- Check your ductwork for leaks and blockages that could be robbing your home of heated or cooled air and stealing money from your wallet.
- Dropping the temperature in your home just 10 degrees when you are away in the winter and increasing it 10 degrees in the summer will save you 10% on your heating and cooling cost. And to avoid missing out on any savings, install a programmable thermostat to do the remembering for you.
The Cost Of That Hot Shower
The electric water heater that makes your shower so enjoyable is the second largest electricity consumer in your home. Reducing hot-water use in your home will drop your electric bill and save a precious natural resource. It is as simple as:
- The average person spends eight minutes relaxing in the shower. If you could drop just two minutes of that time, you would reduce your hot water cost by 25%. And you would be saving water as well.
- Low-flow showerheads water usage by as much as 20%. This is a great solution if you want your full eight-minute shower and save some cash.
- New laundry products designed to be used in cold water have changed the way we think about laundry. You no longer need to use hot water for fresh, clean clothes and linens. Stick to cold water and never worry about wasting hot water on laundry.
- Dropping the temperature on your water heater from 140 degrees to 120 degrees will never make a noticeable difference in your hot water use. Showers will still be hot and energizing, but you will save about 10% on the operating cost of your electric water heater. And to save even more, turn your water heater off or to its lowest setting when you are going out of town for even a few days.
Cheaper Light Look The Same
Replace the lightbulbs in your five most used fixtures with LEDs to save about $75 a year. You will never notice any difference in the quality of the light, and there will be less heat warming up your home in the summer months.
To learn more about reducing your electric bill, call (703) 463-9866 to speak to the pros at Circuit Doctors about more energy-saving tips.
