wordpress stat

How to Save on Your Energy Bills

Photo Credit: https://pixabay.com/vectors/energy-efficiency-energy-154006/

In order to become more financially responsible, one of the things we must pay attention to is where we’re spending our money. We don’t often pay attention to each individual charge in our bills, but it’s important to ask ourselves if there are ways we can cut costs.

Our energy bills are one example of an area where we can make massive savings if we know the right steps to take and what to cut out.

Here are some things we can install or add to our homes to help us reduce our energy costs:

Energy Efficient Windows

One of the most common home upgrades people are making is energy efficient windows. It’s not just about aesthetics or refreshing the look of your home. It actually serves a purpose, and that purpose is saving your energy costs.

According to energy.gov, “Heat gain and heat loss through windows are responsible for 25%–30% of residential heating and cooling energy use.” In order to increase your efficiency, you need to make sure you’re doing something to stop the loss of energy that goes through the windows.

You can either improve the efficiency of your existing windows by repairing leaks with caulk and weather-stripping or adding a solar control film. When it comes to figuring out what needs your home has, a conversation with your local window installers will be a great help. When it comes to keeping warm in winter, energy efficient windows can make a world of a difference.

Nest Thermostat

There are so many smart devices you can take advantage of these days to make your home a lot more efficient, and one of those is a Nest thermostat. By studying the room and the climate, the device can turn the heat or cooling on at the right time.

When you’re not in the home, the device will switch your home’s heating or cooling into energy saving mode, meaning you only use energy when you actually need it. This helps you save money that wouldn’t be spent on wasted energy from forgetting to turn off the AC or lower the heat when needed.

Smart Plugs & Switches

Our electronic devices that use a lot of energy, even when the devices aren’t in use. Enter smart plugs: plugs that can be connected to your Wi-Fi, which allows you to cut power to your devices that aren’t in use from an app on your phone. These are very inexpensive tools you can add to your home to make it a lot more energy efficient.

Don’t Leave Unused Chargers Plugged In

It’s a common mistake we make — we leave our chargers plugged into the outlet when we disconnect our phones each morning, leaving the cord plugged into the wall all day unnecessarily. In order to save on our energy bills, it’s important to change this behavior and become intentional about unplugging chargers when not in use. Our chargers consume at least 0.26 watts of energy when our phones aren’t plugged in. By making simple behavioral changes, you can actually save a lot of money in the long run.

Saving on your energy bills isn’t just financially responsible, but it’s good for the environment as well. With all the challenges the earth is facing, and the fact that we want to preserve the earth for future generations, it’s necessary to take care of our energy usage. Whether it’s fixing our windows or investing in smart devices, we can actually make a change in the energy crisis and change the world one plug and one watt at a time.

Comments

  1. Mary A Ambrosino says

    I always leave my charger plugged in because who knew. Thanks for the important tip.

Google+