Tired of high electric bills? Making your home more energy efficient is a great way to save money in the long term. Read on to learn how.
Wondering how you can improve energy efficiency in your home? Wonder no more! The following guide lists all the solutions you need to make your home more energy-efficient.
Well, to be fair, listing each of the near-endless ways to save energy would have been a bit overwhelming to read. One may not even know where to begin.
That’s why we’ve condensed this list to include only the most important changes for you to make right now. Below are the most common energy-wasters with the simplest solutions.
So, let’s get started! Follow these steps to improve energy efficiency in your home.
1. Get a Free Energy Audit
When you’re looking to conserve energy, your power company is happy to help. So the easiest first step towards energy efficiency is to ask your power company to perform a free energy audit.
Then, you get a professional, personalized report on exactly which changes you need to make for an energy-efficient home. Plus, it won’t cost you a dime!
2. Program Your Thermostat
Do you lower your thermostat when no one’s home? If you don’t, you’re wasting energy to provide a comfortable temperature that nobody even benefits from.
According to energy.gov, this phenomenon accounts for up to 10% of your annual heating and cooling cost. That is, you can save around 10% by turning your thermostat back 7-10 degrees for 8 hours a day.
You can do this manually when you leave the house or program your thermostat according to your work schedule.
3. Replace Your Windows
Furthermore, another 25-30% of your heating and cooling cost usually goes right out the window. That’s the percentage of heating and cooling energy you use when heat leaks in our out through your windows.
That’s why replacing your single-paned windows with ENERGY STAR qualified windows saves the average home $126–$465 per year. Even replacing double-paned windows with ENERGY STAR certified windows can save a typical home up to $111 yearly.
4. Replace Your Light Bulbs
Lighting accounts for 6% of all residential energy use. Replacing your energy-gobbling incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient LEDs will significantly reduce your household’s energy consumption.
LED bulbs are about 85% more efficient than incandescents. But most Americans stock up on incandescents thinking they’re “cheaper.” In reality, this is mostly a misconception based on outdated information.
Energy-efficient bulbs used to be far more expensive than incandescents. Today, you can easily find LED bulbs at discount stores for $1.00! This reduced price, plus what they save you in energy costs, actually make energy-efficient bulbs your most frugal lighting option.
5. Unplug Unnecessary Energy-Wasters
It’s common sense to turn off lights when you leave a room. Otherwise, you’re wasting energy on something you’re not using.
What you may not know is that keeping your phone and other devices plugged in when they’re fully charged does the same thing. Even though the battery is fully charged, the charger keeps sucking up power.
Even worse, charging heats up your device’s battery. Keeping devices plugged in all the time keeps the battery hot, which decreases the battery life.
Always unplug your devices when they reach 100% charge.
Follow These Tips For an Energy-Efficient Home
With this guide, an energy-efficient home is easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5! Follow these tips to improve energy efficiency and save money.
To learn more about saving energy, check out Will Replacement Windows Reduce My Cooling Costs?