Want to make $20 extra dollars every month for the rest of your life? By doing these three incredibly simple tasks you can decrease your energy consumption, decrease your impact on the environment, and increase the money in your wallet!
Check out these three easy to do home energy saving tips:
Energy Saving Tip #1: Program your Programmable Thermostat
Why heat or cool your house when nobody is home? By programming your thermostat to drop a few degrees in the winter and rise a few degrees in the summer, you will save between $100- $200/year. Many of us are afraid of programming these fancy devices, but just give it a try and you will find that it’s much easier thank you would think. Step by step instructions are almost always posted on the inside of the cover.
Energy Saving Tip #2: Unplug Unused Fridges and Freezers
One of the best ways to save energy at home is to either upgrade or completely remove old refrigerators and freezers. The older the unit the more money it costs and a fridge from the 1980’s can easily cost over $300/year to operate, while a new energystar model can cost as low as $50/year to operate. Another energy-saving tip with refrigerators is to turn off the anti-sweat switch. The extra humidity control that this setting provides is rarely worth the extra energy it consumes.
Energy Saving Tip #3: Turn Back your Hot-Water Heater
We all love a hot shower but there is no reason to store scalding hot water in your water heater tank. You can save 5-10% on your bills just by turning back the temperature dial to 120-125 degrees. The dial should be visible without removing an access panel. In most heaters you will see settings such as warm, hot, and hottest. A reasonable temperature is usually between the warm and hot setting, but you may want to experiment to find that ‘perfect’ temperature.
Investing to save energy at home is one of the best investments you can make. However, it is important to know which upgrades are worth the money. For example, you could spend $5,000 to replace all of your windows, but only save $200/year. By simply programming your programmable thermostat, you save the same amount of money at no cost!
