It is easy to make minor, daily adjustments in your home’s energy consumption, and they wouldn’t cost much. You’ll be surprised to know how much you can save from those minor changes. However, with technology radically transforming modern-day living, homes are serving more purposes than they initially did. This also means an increase in energy consumption.
So, how can you cut down energy costs in your home? Here are some effective methods you can consider.
- Air-dry your clothes instead of the dryer
Nothing beats the smell of your towels, sheets, and clothes dried out in fresh air and the sun. You only need the old-fashioned clothing line to air-dry your clothes. You might also want to consider drying them in your backyard or an airy, sunny part of the outdoor space. More so, air-drying doesn’t only cut your energy use but also helps positively impact the environment. It also prevents static fabric clings and extends your clothing lifetime by minimizing wear and tear from dryer use.
- Use natural lighting
Did you know your window can illuminate up to 100 times its area? This means that you can turn off your 60-watt bulb for at least four hours each day which could save you over 9 dollars over the year- just one room! It seems like a little, but it is a great deal! Besides your windows, you can increase natural light illumination in your home by hanging mirrors on your walls.
Mirrors reflect lights which means every natural light that enters your home indoors will be magnified to make your entire space brighter. However, it is best to hang your mirrors facing the natural light source. Natural daylight reduces artificial lighting and the electricity you use. It also cuts your HVAC costs to save your energy and money.
- Remove or turn off unnecessary lights
Learning to turn off the light when leaving your room is an important habit you should develop and nurture. It is helpful to create a reminder to turn off your lights until it becomes a habit to do so subconsciously. Turning off your lights regularly when leaving a room can help you save on energy consumption and costs.
It is common to install lighting in some home areas to improve your interior. However, this comes at a cost by adding up to your existing home lighting. You might want to remove any light installed in room places that are insignificant or have less impact on your home.
- Take shorter, cooler showers
Shorter and colder showers reduce the amount of energy you would have used to keep warm water running- which could be more than two gallons every minute. Reducing your shower each day by four minutes means saving up to 3650 gallons of water every year. Additionally, wellness experts say that cold showers are beneficial for your skin as it helps in tightening and constricting blood flow to gain healthy glowing skin. Also, cold water keeps the skin moist and naturally lubricated to protect your skin and hair needs.
- Unplug your devices
Your appliances use electricity when plugged in, even when they are not in use. Therefore, it is advisable to unplug them. According to experts, keeping devices unplugged when not in use can save you between $100 and $200 in energy bills. These ‘energy vampires’ draw small amounts of energy every day, and you can also protect them from power surges. Even the most minor lightning strike or transformer explosion can damage your appliances.
- Fix your leaky faucets
A leaky faucet is a common cause of water wastage in most homes. Worn-out washers usually cause these in the faucets. Your leaky faucet can cost you over 11,000 gallons of water every year. A leaky hot water faucet would mean you would be paying for energy you are not even using. By fixing it, you save about $33 each year on your utility bills.
You can easily do this by following detailed and reliable DIY tutorials. However, to avoid making more of a mess, you can hire the services of a reputable and experienced plumber in Winston-Salem.
- Ditch old electronics for efficiencies ones
Your refrigerators and dryers can be the two most energy-intensive appliances in your home. When they get older, they require even more energy to operate. You would save more money and cut energy bills by investing in new energy-efficient replacements. Studies have shown that using energy-efficient appliances in your home can cut your utility cost by 50%.
Generally, ditching your old devices for newer efficient ones every few years can significantly help your energy consumption. You wouldn’t just be saving your money and cutting your yearly energy costs by $400 every year, and you would be protecting the environment.
- Cold laundry wash
You can wash large and unsorted loads without having to worry about tie-dying all your clothing. Additionally, roughly 90% of the energy used by washing machines goes into water heating. Using cold water to wash some of your clothes will save you energy costs, keep your clothes clean and leave the planet smiling.
- Wash only full loads
Your clothes washer is designed to operate most efficiently when filled with loads. More importantly, running your clothes washer when filled means you won’t have to run it more often, which will save you energy costs. While this sounds pretty easy, it can save you lots in reducing your loading every week and significantly reduce your water and energy usage and money.
However, it is vital to avoid overloading your clothes in your washing machine, making it difficult to wash your clothes properly. Overloading can also damage your washer and even get your clothes smelling worse than they went in.
- Install ceiling fan
Installing a ceiling fan can make you feel almost four degrees cooler during the summer months. During winter, the ceiling fan pushes warm air downwards to make you feel warmer. Flip the switch on the side of your ceiling fan housing for a reverse blade rotation. Turn the fan to a slow speed to create a soft upward breeze away from the persons in the room.
This will direct the naturally rising warm air downwards into the room. When this happens, you wouldn’t need to run your air conditioner or heater often. This way, your ceiling fan plays a crucial role in saving your energy costs.
- Fill your freezer
Freezers run more efficiently when they are full, which is why it would help to keep your freezers fully stocked. If possible, get your groceries in bulk to fill your fridge. a full freezer wouldn’t only save you your electricity bills but gas as you won’t have to frequent the grocery store for supply. You might as well stock your freezer with your containers full of frozen water to fill it up.
A full freezer has less room for warm air, and your inside items can cool any air that sneaks in, which means less energy consumption.
- Regularly service your HVAC
Have an HVAC professional check your unit every year to ensure it’s running efficiently. Besides providing your HVAC runs efficiently, there are several other reasons why it needs frequent servicing. You want to increase your HVAC lifespan, check unexpected breakdowns, lower your energy bills, and create a more comfortable environment in your home indoors.
The comfort of your indoors is significantly improved when your systems are well maintained. Your room temperatures and humidity are better controlled when your unit cycles correctly turn on and off. Meanwhile, poorly maintained HVAC units require 20% more energy to run.
- Perform an energy audit
Your utility service provider can offer free energy audits to help you identify those areas and appliances costing you the most in energy usage. It could be your basement, attics, leaking ductwork, or unfinished rooms. You can save big on energy bills by sealing your ducts to help keep your thermostat turned off. The energy audit is recommended to help you identify energy usage associated with your home and advise you on potential savings. There are many ways an energy audit can benefit you, including:
- Lowering your energy bills
- Increase your equipment lifespan and
- Recognize unaccounted energy consumption present in the home.
- Try alternative energy sources
Although there are several alternative energy sources to use in your home, the use of solar panels has proven to be the most popular. Solar is good for moving from the grid to a better way to consume energy. Depending on the size of your home, a few panels should be enough to efficiently power your entire home and leave more minor carbon imprints on the environment.
There are likewise several technologies and tax incentives making solar use more attractive to homeowners. The investment cost of solar energy has decreased significantly over the years, and many consider roofing their homes to generate clean and renewable energy.
These ideas should help save energy and money in your home with little stress. While a few of these should seem obvious, they should all help save energy, protect the environment, and help you properly manage your monthly bills.
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