Saving on energy has never been more of a win-win situation than it is today. By implementing the use of a solar power system, each time you lower your energy and utility bills, you are putting more money back into your bank account to spend on anything that you like. Lower energy bills also mean a lower amount of energy consumed, which also helps to reduce your carbon footprint by reducing the amount of harmful emissions released into the environment. The best thing about becoming more energy efficient is that there’s no need to completely overhaul your home, as there are many simple, easy, and effective things which you can do with little investment or DIY to save energy at home. Some of these ideas are simple enough to do yourself, while other ideas might have you searching online to check for the best energy price comparison sites and looking for additional tips to help you save energy and money. You can see this here.
Use Energy Efficient Appliances
Home appliances need replacing every once in a while, and if you are shopping for new appliances, be sure to look for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star label before you make a purchase. Appliances which are Energy Star certified use between 10-50% less energy and water than conventional machines, and although they may cost more to buy initially, they can definitely save you much more than that extra cost in the long run.
Use Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs
One of the simplest and least expensive changes which you can make in your home in order to reduce your energy usage is change your light bulbs. According to Energy Star, qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs cost just a few dollars, but save homeowners around $30 over the lifetime of the bulb. These light bulbs use around seventy-five percent less energy than conventional light bulks, and last around ten times longer as well.
Install a Programmable Thermostat
Nobody likes to come home from a full day of work to a freezing home, however leaving the heating system on all day to ensure that the house is warm for your arrival is simply not economical. However, installing a programmable thermostat will allow you to adjust the temperature in the home to your schedule, keeping it warm and comfortable only when you need it to be. If you don’t already adjust your thermostat accordingly during the day, installing a programmable thermostat could save you up to fifteen percent on your heating costs. Looking for a more efficient heating system could also help in the way of reducing costs. Take a look at Winrow Heating Services to see how they could help with their heating solutions on offer – these are good for both the home and the factory environments for which they also have options available.
Seal Air Leaks
Although the majority of homeowners put a lot of effort into making sure that their home has enough insulation, it’s also important to look for any small gaps and cracks which could cause air to leak into and out of your property. By improving insulation and also sealing any air leaks, commonly found around doors and windows, you could potentially save up to ten percent of your home’s annual energy bill. If searching for leaks seems like quite a daunting task, contact your energy provider to enquire about whether or not you are eligible for a free energy audit.
Keeping your eye out for better rates from different energy providers can also help to keep your energy costs as low as possible! Check out the great range of energy companies in Alberta which you can compare. Such comparison sites are available worldwide, including in Norway. You can search for and compare all the electricity prices, including the deals, with strømtest to make the process of selecting a new provider an easy one.
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Jeremy and I have been talking a lot about our utility bills in our apartment, vs what they will be in the new house. The house is 2 floors and over twice the size of our apartment and yet, I’m pretty sure we’re going to come out about even on our electric bill.
Our apartment is horrible. One of the windows is stuck open, I can feel air coming through the front door at the bottom as well as through the peep hole, and if I can smell the downstairs neighbors recreational use… I’m pretty sure this place isn’t sealed up very well.
The new house has a thermostat for each floor, is insulated to code, has special roof tiles that are designed to keep the heat in, and low emittance glass windows that reflects radiant heat waves to keep the house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. We will also have brand new Energy Star appliances.
I think it’s going to be really interesting to see the difference in our utility bill – if any at all!
Jeremy and I have been talking a lot about our utility bills in our apartment, vs what they will be in the new house. The house is 2 floors and over twice the size of our apartment and yet, I’m pretty sure we’re going to come out about even on our electric bill.
Our apartment is horrible. One of the windows is stuck open, I can feel air coming through the front door at the bottom as well as through the peep hole, and if I can smell the downstairs neighbors recreational use… I’m pretty sure this place isn’t sealed up very well.
The new house has a thermostat for each floor, is insulated to code, has special roof tiles that are designed to keep the heat in, and low emittance glass windows that reflects radiant heat waves to keep the house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. We will also have brand new Energy Star appliances.
I think it’s going to be really interesting to see the difference in our utility bill – if any at all!
My house isn’t much more than my apartment, but they’re both probably equally drafty. I’d imagine my winter bills are worse than my summer bills, because the central air in the apartment was awful at like $150 a month those last two months I spent in that Apt! And it worked really awful too. In my new house I don’t have air conditionning, I just put a window unit in upstairs and a portable unit downstairs and the electric bill was less than half of the apartment and I was comfortable enough lol.
We’ve hit the low 200’s on our summer bill a couple of times – in 2014 when we were trying to navigate our thermostat and figure out what temperature would work most comfortably for us. We kept it a little cooler than we do now. Our apartment is usually set to 73 in the summer, 68 in the winter.
We moved into a new to us house, the heat bill the first month was almost $400!!!! There was no insulation in the house at all. A little insulation and the bill was down to about $150. It’s a 1200 sq ft house, not counting the basement or full attic.
That sounds horrible and I am so sorry you had to go through that! That’s crazy… No insulation at all!?
Our home is being built. I watched them put the insulation in, thankfully. It’s a 2,200 sqft house so I am a little worried about the bill. But there’s so many upgrades compared to that of our 950 sqft apartment. Our summer bill has been in the low 200’s a couple of times.
The house is from the early 1900s. Not a speck of any form of insulation, old single pane wood windows (two of which were broke and covered with cardboard), and a furnace from the 1960s. It still had the old knob and tube electric. Now that we’ve taken care of those problems, our heat/electric bill hasn’t been over 200 except once when it was below zero for a whole month.
Fantastic ideas! I’m always looking for ways to save energy around the house. Thanks for the great tips!
You’re welcome, and good luck!
Great tips! I think a programmable thermostat would be great!
Great ideas. Thanks for Sharing. Any opinion on what thermostat is best?
Great ideas. Thanks for Sharing. Any opinion on what thermostat is best?
Great post! We love our programmable thermostat! It’s awesome to be able to control the house temp when I’m not home and don’t need the heat!
Love this post. Sealing the air leaks is something we struggle with. We really need to replace all the windows…and probably the doors…but zero money for that!
This is perfect!
When we have our own home, I want to make sure everything is energy efficient.
xoxo, Jenny
This is perfect!
When we have our own home, I want to make sure everything is energy efficient.
xoxo, Jenny
Great Tips! I definitely want to look into programmable thermostats when I start installing a heater/fan in the house.
Air leaks really to cause a lot of energy waste. Good list. I think a programmable thermostat would be nice to have. And I want that chair in the first picture. 😉
Yes yes yes such great ideas, also people should learn to turn off lights when leaving a room this is a big thing for me I am forever turning of lights that Blain or Natasha leave on I will break this habit of leaving on lights when no one is in the room if it kills me.
Yes yes yes such great ideas, also people should learn to turn off lights when leaving a room this is a big thing for me I am forever turning of lights that Blain or Natasha leave on I will break this habit of leaving on lights when no one is in the room if it kills me.
Really great tips! I definitely have a lot of waste, always forget to turn off lights!
I’m working on putting up more sensible draperies with thermal black-out. Totally worth the investment.