9 Ways To Reduce Energy Usage and Bills at Home
It is undeniable that the homeowners receive an energy bill much more than their wish. Generally, homeowners wish a little lower energy bill every time, but do you put any effort into making your home energy efficient? It is your responsibility to take care of every small point that can help you in reducing your bills. An increase in bills can happen in winters and summers when your HVAC systems are used the most to make you feel comfortable at your place.
If you wish to lower your home energy bills, you must follow some quick and easy steps. These tips will not only help you reduce your energy usage at home but will save your money for the long term.
The best way homeowners can reduce their energy usage is to maintain their HVAC system properly. Some other noteworthy tips are:
1. Home Energy Audit is Must
Before you attempt to try different tips that may or may not work for you, you must find out the source of your house's home energy problems. But this is not a layman task. You must take the help of a professional to discover the reason why more energy is losing in your home. Also, hiring an expert will be beneficial because he will also tell you the ways to improve it. The average cost of hiring a home energy auditor is around $380.
2. Upgrading HVAC System
Best HVAC Systems
If your HVAC system has become older, this could be a possible reason for your skyrocketing energy bills. You must use Energy Star certified air conditioning and heating system if you are looking to invest in buying a new system.
But if you are not planning to buy a new HV AC system, all you need is a professional technician help for its maintenance and repair. You must take preventive maintenance service for your HVAC system at least once a year. Investing in appliance inspection will cost less than buying a new appliance or using an outdated appliance regularly. Also, change your filters after every 3 months.
3. Install Insulation
If your home is adequately insulated, it can offer great help in saving energy at your home. If you go for a home energy audit, the professional will be able to to tell you whether you are missing insulation, or there is a need to upgrade it. You must know that most of the energy is lost due to the roof through the attic. So, if you have never thought of insulating your attic, its that right time to do it now. This will give you more comfort at home. Plus, you will be able to save more energy. The cost of Attic insulation is approximately $1,900.
4. Energy-Efficient Appliances
Your old refrigerator or range uses more energy than it requires. If any of your kitchen appliances has become older, you would not be able to enjoy the efficient energy benefits offered by newer models. For instance, if you have an Energy Star certified refrigerator at home, you can save up to 40% more energy than the regular fridge. It means you will have more money in your wallet by the end of every month.
5. Installation of Window Treatments
Many people are not aware of the thing that installing window treatments at your home is a great way to maintain a controlled temperature. Only by closing the windows with heavy curtains, you can keep your home free from overheating during the daytime, and it will also insulate your windows. Moreover, window treatments give a trendy and stylish look to your room, so you don't have any reason not to add them.
6. Lower the Temperature of Your Water Heater
If you want to save energy and your energy bills, you are advised to set the temperature of your water heater thermostat to 120 degrees. It used to be set at 140 degrees previously, which was responsible for increased energy bills every month.
7. Change Your Light bulbs
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This is also a small change that you can make at your home to save energy. Yes, change your light bulbs frequently. It's a simple task that you need to do. Outdated incandescent bulbs are known to use more energy, thereby increasing your energy bills. Therefore, you are advised to choose CFL or LED bulbs which do not use more energy and have a prolonged life. This is a small change that can create significant savings for you in the future.
8. Use Fans for Cooling
During warm spring and summer, you can try using your ceiling fans to cool your home. This is an excellent option to reduce the need for air conditioners. In this way, you can reduce the cooling cost up to 7 to 10 percent.
Using a ceiling fan will permit you to raise the thermostat setting approximately 4°F without causing any discomfort to you. Don't forget to turn off your ceiling fans when not in use. Remember, fans cool people and not rooms, so try to save the maximum energy you can.
9. Turn Off What's not Required
This final tip is a self-explanatory one, but many people are in the habit of leaving the room without turning off appliances. The best way is to blood your appliances like charges and lamps into a power strip so that all the appliances are turned off easily when they are not in use. Department of Energy says, in this way, the homeowner can save around $100.
Final Thought
Most of the people think that saving energy is a big challenge. However, after reading all the above-stated tips, you must have come to know that energy saving is quite an easy task. All you need to do is change a few of your habits and make some necessary changes at your home. Apart from this, make sure you take heating and air conditioning installation and repair services in Orange County from professional technicians only. Only expert and experienced technicians will install and repair your appliance correctly e so that you can reduce your energy bills.
