A lower energy bill for your home means you have more money to spend on other needs including leisure, which is always a plus. If you’re wondering about how you can achieve this, read on.
1. Fix Leaks in the Plumbing
With the EPA saying that a faucet dripping a single drip each second can waste over 3,000 gallons of water each year, it’s clear that you need to fix any leaks in your plumbing. Perform a visual inspection to make sure that there are no leaks in and around your house. If you find any and have the necessary tools and know-how to repair them, do it as soon as possible. Otherwise, call a good plumber to come in and fix them for you. Doing this will help you use water more efficiently, and you will be paying for water that you’ve actually used.
2. Switch to Energy-Saving Bulbs
Bulbs around the house may seem to only consume a small amount of power when analyzed as a single unit. However, when they’re all put together and observed over a length of time, the story changes. To make sure that you use as little energy as possible in the house, switch to energy-saving LED bulbs, which will save you a good amount of energy and emit less heat when turned on. Follow this up with only turning lights on in occupied rooms and you will minimize your energy use even more, making this a habit worth practising with your family.
3. Perform Preventative Maintenance
Another way in which you can save on energy use in your home is to perform predictive maintenance as often as is necessary to do so. For example, it’s recommended that a family of four people with a 1,000-pound tank should have it pumped once every three to five years. When you follow this and other maintenance procedures for the appliances and systems in your home, you will have them run efficiently and therefore save a good amount of energy.
4. Get Energy Strips
Energy strips are an effective way of dealing with energy vampires in your home. These are appliances that remain on standby mode even when they’re turned off, effectively consuming energy even in this state. Put this to a stop by connecting your home’s appliances to energy strips and making sure that they’re only using power while they’re fully on and in use. Over time, you will realize that your energy consumption has gone down.
5. Only Run Appliances When They’re Full
Finally, this last tip is for appliances such as the dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer. You will get better energy-efficiency when you only run them when they’re full. While it may be tempting to throw in a few dirty clothes or dishes for a quick cleaning session, avoid doing this and you will save both energy and water as they will run at their most optimum in this case. With cabinets generally accounting for 40% to 50% of the total costs used up in a kitchen remodel, you can be sure that something like replacing an old appliance is something that you may fit into these costs. Doing so will ensure that you can now do chores well, fast, and in an energy-efficient way thanks to getting a new appliance.
Put these five suggestions into practice and you will start to enjoy lower energy bills in your home. Teaching the tips to your family will also help you instill good habits in them that will help them use energy well wherever they go, something that they will thank you profusely for!