From your air conditioner to your dishwasher to your lightbulbs, there are probably high energy-consuming things all over your house. We’re going to break down a few of them and give you some tips to save more on your utility bill.
Inefficient windows make your HVAC unit work harder.
One of the primary reasons your energy bills are so high could be related to your inefficient windows.
How so? Well, if you take a look across your home to see what uses the most energy, you’ll find that it’s probably your HVAC unit. Whether it’s pumping ice-cold air on a hot Texas day or keeping you toasting on a chilly winter night, it’s using a lot of energy to keep you comfortable.
However, what if the unit is working harder than it needs to? What if, every time it cooled down your home, the outside temperatures found their way into your home, bringing up the temperature again? It seems counter-productive, and that’s a lot of wasted energy. One way to help keep the workload down is by installing energy-efficient windows.
Your windows are great for viewing, but most builder-grade windows don’t do much in the way of keeping the outside temperatures outside. By installing double pane, argon-filled windows, you’ll help out your HVAC unit, so it doesn’t have to work as hard, resulting in savings on your utility bill.
Gaps and air leaks let outside air into your home.
Unquestionably at some point, you’ve come across a drafty window or door. The draft coming from the ‘outside’ is usually pretty obvious. It’s why most people cringe when they sit near a window on a cold day. However, the other gaps and air leaks that exist inside your home may not be as apparent, resulting in high utility bills.
As we mentioned, your HVAC unit is an energy hog. It takes a lot of power, whether electricity or gas, to keep a stable temperature throughout your residence. Just like poorly designed windows can make your air conditioner work harder, so can gaps and air leaks.
Take a look around your windows and see if the air is coming in from around the edges. You might need to either caulk or weatherstrip the windows to prevent this air from coming in. Can you see the light coming in from under your exterior doors? You can install draft-stoppers for only a few bucks.
Minor changes will go a long way in lowering your energy bills.
Water heaters use more energy than you realize.
Okay, enough with the HVAC. I’m sure you can guess what uses the second-most energy throughout your home. It’s your water heater.
In this modern age, we are constantly using hot water. A family of four uses around 63.1 gallons of hot water a day, whether for showers, dishes or just washing your hands. It takes a lot of energy to heat that water.
There’s also plenty of hot water wasted when heated up and cools in a tank, and is never used. That’s how older-style tank water heaters operate, but modern units have a better approach.
Most newer homes will have a tankless water heater installed as they’re becoming more and more common. However, you can replace the old energy-inefficient tank heater even in an older home.
Tankless water heaters only heat water when you need it, so you don’t heat water to have it sit there. So when you’re at work or sleeping, your water heater isn’t needlessly heating water.
Appliances are necessary but can consume massive amounts of energy.
Every home has them. Appliances are a necessity to modern life. However, they can also be a severe energy hog. If you want to conserve energy, take a closer look at what’s keeping your food and drinks cold and washing your dishes.
For one week, stop using appliances that aren’t necessary. That means no stove or oven use, no dishwasher, and watching the laundry pile up for once. See what it does to your energy bill.
We can’t go forever without these necessary machines, but we can look into more energy-efficient models.
If your refrigerator is more than five years old, look into a newer one. If any of your appliances don’t have an energy-star rating, consider models that do. Over the years, companies like GE and Samsung have pushed the limits of minimal energy use.
Of course, outfitting your home with all new appliances will come at a steep bill, but they will pay for themselves after a few years.
Lighting is a quick win.
Last on our list, lighting is one of the cheapest ways to bring your utility use down.
These valuable inventions don’t consume massive amounts of wattage like an appliance, but you probably have dozens of lightbulbs throughout your house, and all of those filaments add up.
In addition to turning off lights during the day or whenever you don’t need them, consider switching them over to LED bulbs. A few years ago, LED bulbs were quite expensive. I’ve seen some bulbs that were upwards of $10-$20 per bulb. That is not the case anymore, as you can find them for around $1 per bulb if bought in a pack.
LEDs use, at a minimum, 75% less energy than regular incandescent bulbs. When you multiply that across your entire household, that’s a significant saving. Not only that, LEDs last much, much longer than incandescents as well. So you’re spending less on replacing them over the life of the bulb. This is a no-brainer and can be done by any homeowner.
Everyone wants to save a few bucks on their energy bill wherever they can, especially in this economy. We can’t say we blame you.
Whether you’re looking to make tremendous improvements such as replacing your windows, or more minor, more incremental improvements such as converting to LED lighting, there are plenty of ways to lower your utility bills. Several small changes can go a long way in putting more cash in your pocket.