How to Lower Your Energy Bills at Home
“When you pay the bills, you can touch the thermostat” is a favorite saying of fathers everywhere. You cannot process that the comfort of a cooler home costs more money, as a child, but it becomes very evident once you grow up.
Eventually, you empathize with your parents for keeping the house a little warmer to try to save money on the energy bill. However, there are many ways you can decrease your energy bill while remaining comfortable.
By making some simple changes in your home, you can afford to crank up the air conditioning without drastically impacting your bill. Read below to find out ingenious methods to decrease your home’s energy bill.
Do an Energy Audit
If you want to decrease your energy bill, you need to find out more about your energy consumption so you can figure out a starting point. Energy audits provide a thorough examination of your home’s energy use and highlight many essential factors, such as areas where energy is wasted. They help you prioritize which areas need improvement the most to make your home more efficient and comfortable.
If your energy audit reveals some appliances are using much more energy than necessary, you should replace them with more energy-efficient heating and cooling systems. That will have a positive impact on your home’s energy bill! You can perform an energy audit yourself, but a professional auditor will provide a more extensive analysis.
Check on the Status of Your HVAC System
Your HVAC system is, arguably, the most significant contributor to your energy bill, especially during the hotter summer months. If it is not operating at maximum capacity and efficiency, your bill skyrockets. Therefore, you should check on the status of your HVAC system at least once a year, depending on the level of usage.
HVAC professionals recommend annual maintenance in the months leading up to the summer. Your system will see an uptick in use to cool your house during the blazing heat, and it must be prepared for the extra workload. If it is not, it must work harder to cool your home, which directly increases your energy bill. There are several ways to check on the status of your HVAC system.
One of the easiest things to do is change the filter. This increases the air quality in the room. Your system is likely not functioning properly if you notice a disparity between the listed temperature on the thermostat and the room’s temperature.
There could also be noticeable humidity in the room if your system is not functioning correctly. You can also hear if there are problems with your system. If it is louder than usual or if you notice any unusual “whirring” or “clanging” sounds, you should call an HVAC professional so they can assess the situation.
Upgrade to a Ductless Air Conditioner
Old HVAC systems often operate at lower efficiency, and they can directly cause an increase in your home’s energy bill and consumption. If you are considering upgrading your HVAC system, ductless air conditioners are an excellent option for homeowners looking to decrease their energy bill. Ductless air conditioners have a variety of benefits that make them very appealing to homeowners, but their main calling card is their efficiency.
Homeowners with ducted HVAC systems consume 30% more energy because some air gets lost as it travels through the ducts to its final destination in your home. Ductless air conditioners waste little to no power during operation, so they directly reduce your energy bill.
Their installation process is also very simple and straightforward because it does not require the extensive ductwork of other central HVAC systems. Finally, they act as air purifiers and are much quieter than other HVAC options.
Install Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans are another excellent way to diminish your energy bill. They are cheap, easy to install, and require minimal maintenance. Ceiling fans help decrease your energy bill by ensuring that your HVAC system does not have to work as hard to cool the room.
Ceiling fans are also surprisingly versatile, as you can change their direction to heat or cool the room. For a cooling effect, spin your fan counterclockwise to force the air in the room down and create a chilling effect. For a warmer space, spin the fan clockwise to draw the cooler air up and push the warm air down.
Install Curtains and Blinds
Installing curtains and blinds in your home is another excellent way to decrease your energy bill. Since they are reasonably cheap to buy and easy to install, they end up paying for themselves quite quickly. Closing the curtains or blinds naturally decreases the room’s temperature by keeping the sunlight out. This reduces how hard your air conditioning unit must work to cool the room, which, in turn, lowers your energy bill.
There are also curtains and blinds of varying thickness and degree, such as blackout curtains. Blackout curtains are ideal in bedrooms because they keep the room cool while completely eliminating any natural light. Not only do you reduce your energy bill, but you are also more comfortable while you sleep!
Switch to LED Light Bulbs
Switching all lightbulbs in your home to LED models works wonders in reducing your energy bill. LED light bulbs offer many benefits compared to older traditional light bulbs. For example, they last 2-4 times as long as fluorescent, metal halide, and sodium vapor lights, and 40 times as long as iridescent bulbs.
They also operate 60-75% more efficiently than their counterparts, which drastically reduces your energy bill. You also save money by not having to purchase light bulbs as frequently.
Using LED bulbs is one of the many ways to be Eco-friendly in your home.
Unplug Electronics
Another way to decrease your energy bill is by unplugging electronics when they are not in use. You may think simply turning them off is enough, but they also consume energy while powered off but still plugged in. This phenomenon is often referred to as phantom or standby loads.
Unplugging is very easy to do if you install power strips with on/off switches. It saves you the time of unplugging each appliance individually, and it ends up saving homeowners about $100 a year
As the dog days of summer are in full swing for most, you’ll want to look for ways to stay cool without cranking up the air conditioner. The same goes for when the temperatures start to drop; you’ll always want to be prepared. Luckily, you now know some new tricks to help decrease your home’s energy bill!
Final thoughts
Reducing your home’s energy bill is always a fruitful exercise. By using the tips provided, you’ll be putting yourself in a better position to not only save energy but the money coming out of your pocketbook as well.
Other Home Improvement Articles Worth a Look
- Summer maintenance checklist – see some excellent tips for maintaining your home during the summer months. Prepare your property for the upcoming winter months with the helpful advice.
- How to make your house feel like a home – use some terrific tips to make your property feel like a place you want to be all the time and not just four walls.
Use these additional references to make the best home improvement decisions.
About the author: The above article on the best ways to lower your home’s energy bills was written by Emily Hodges. Emily is a Marketing Communications Specialist for Comfort Up, a provider of indoor and outdoor heating and cooling systems. Emily oversees all marketing-related functions from their Miami, FL office. In her spare time, she loves all things interior design and has helped many friends completely renovate their homes.