After paying another round of bills recently, you were once again struck by how much money you shell out each month for basic services. Your power, water and gas bills alone take up a significant chunk of change—to the point where you dread opening up your statements each month.
Fortunately, high energy bills are not something you have to endure forever. There are a number of ways you can improve the efficiency of your home, which in turn will reduce the amount of energy you use and lower your bills. For example, consider the following ideas:
Go tankless
One great place to start improving your home’s efficiency is to replace your traditional water heater with a tankless variety. This type of water heater will provide hot water when it is needed, and will not create standby energy losses that are common to regular storage water heaters. When someone in your house turns on the hot water tap, cold water goes into the tankless system, where it is heated up and supplies a constant supply of hot H2O.
Install smart home devices
Another effective way to lower your home’s power usage is by installing smart home devices. As you shop, you will find a number of smart home devices that save time as well as money thanks to their ability to be programmed ahead of time, or controlled from your smartphone or tablet. For instance, while leaving some lights on when you will be away for most of the afternoon and evening is a wise idea, having two or three lamps burning for hours starting when it’s still light outside will waste power and money. With the help of a smart home lighting system, you can schedule the lights to come on at dusk, which will save on energy.
Buy energy-efficient light bulbs
The next time your porch light or living room light burns out, instead of replacing the burned-out bulbs with the usual incandescent versions, consider using energy-efficient bulbs instead. While you will probably spend a bit more for these types of bulbs, you won’t have to replace them as often, and they use less energy. For instance, the compact fluorescent (CFL) bulb uses less than two-thirds of the energy that a regular bulb requires, while lasting 10 times as long. LED bulbs are also available for home use; unlike their original versions that produced a cold white light, the current LED lights produce a nice warm glow that is ideal for rooms throughout your home.
Make sure your home is well-insulated
You can have the most energy-efficient HVAC system in the world, but if your home is not well insulated you will figuratively be losing money through the cracks. Common areas where leaks can take place include around the doors and windows, in-door mail slots, around air conditioners that are mounted in a window, electrical outlets and through the attic. Fortunately, you can correct many if not all of these issues yourself. For example, you can buy new weatherstripping for the doors and then spend some time in the attic looking for and plugging any holes by where the walls meet the attic floor. When you are in the attic, if you notice that your insulation is missing or stained, you might want to call in a professional to add to and/or replace it.
Save energy and save money
It is always a good feeling to know that a negative situation can be turned around. In this case, paying big bucks on your monthly utility bills can be remedied by making your home more efficient. Thanks to a tankless water heater, smart home devices, energy-efficient light bulbs and proper sealing and insulation, opening and paying your monthly billing statements will no longer be a stressful experience.