Easy Ways to Reduce Your Home’s Energy Consumption

Oct 14, 2013

For those of you who haven’t gotten the memo– October is Energy Awareness Month! So, in an effort to practice what we preach, Improveit! found some easy, relatively inexpensive ways to reduce our own homes’ energy consumption. Below are a handful of our favorites that we wanted to share with our homeowners.

LIGHTING

Because lighting is responsible for about 11% of your utility bills, this is the easiest and most effective place to start.

  • Start by replacing your regular light bulbs with their energy efficient counterparts- compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). They use way less every– about 75% less to be exact– and only cost about $1 more than what you’re used to.  If you don’t want to change out all of your light bulbs initially, try starting with your most-used room. Maybe your kitchen light is always on. Replace the bulbs in there first, then move to other rooms at your own pace.
  • Are you someone that gets really into the holiday spirit?  Even if you’re not, try using LED light strands instead of incandescent ones. Not only are they more durable, but they consume 70% less energy meaning they can withstand the whole holiday season without burning out.

APPLIANCES

Not so common knowledge.

  • Stop putting your laptop on ‘hibernate’ mode when you’re not using it. Many are guilty of doing this for days at a time and all it does is waste energy and add dollar signs your electricity bill. If you’re done using your computer for the day, turn it off. Genius!
  • Consider a laptop next time you’re looking to buy a computer. You can probably assume that laptops use up a lot less energy than a desktop, but did you know it can be up to 80% less? Us either.

WATER

If you can live with shaving off a few minutes of your shower, kudos to you. If not, try these!

  • Reduce your water heater temperature. It sounds a lot harder than it is. Pro Tip: Use YouTube to figure it out! A good range that will save you money but still heat up your water is 120-130
  • Get a  low-flow shower head. Not to be confused with low-pressure. These shower heads somehow save every drip of water they can and substantially reduce your hot water usage, ie saving you money. The best part? Groupon has some for $25!

HEATING/COOLING

Pay attention here.

  • If no one is home during the day, set your thermostat lower or even off. Program it to kick in a half hour before you get home. This may take a little time to play around with, but it’s worth it–heating & cooling costs account for up to 70% of your utility bills.
  • Fans, fans, fans.Putting your ceiling fan in the clockwise direction allows your heating unit to not work as hard by pushing cold and hot air around together. Probably didn’t think fans are necessary in the winter?Trust us on this!

You can adjust your thermometer or use as many fans as you want, but if you have leaks in your home– that air you’re spending so much money on heating or cooling is just escaping and taking your money with it. Not sure if you’re ready to make a bigger impact on your energy savings? Get the facts here:

WINDOWS

  • Windows can account for 10% – 25% of your utility bill due to heat escaping.
  • Our double-pane, energy efficient replacement windows will keep that heat in.

ATTIC INSULATION

  • About 40% of your home’s energy loss escapes through the attic.
  • Add another protective layer to your home with our blown-in attic insulation.

If you need assistance with the bigger tips and tricks to decreasing your home’s energy consumption or you’re just not sure where the inefficiencies are, we can help! Our expert advisors can perform a FREE home evaluation that will tell you where and why you are losing energy and then recommend solutions that can save you money on your monthly utility bills.  Call 1800ROOMNOW to start saving today!

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