Energy Saving Tips for your Home

It seems that the price of everything is on the rise.  From gas to utilities we are laying out more money to get to work and maintain our homes.  Saving money is a welcome change we all could use.  Here are some tips for energy saving measures around the house to help bring in those savings.

Change your light bulbs.  We’ve all seen the new compact fluorescent light bulbs on the market.  They are more energy efficient and last longer than traditional light bulbs.  They also emit a brighter light at a lower wattage.

I, like so many other people, purchase bottled water.  I like the taste of it and it has fewer chemicals than water from the faucet.  To save money and energy use low flow adapters on your faucets and water filters.  Water filters lower the grocery bill because you are filtering the water that you already pay for instead of buying more.  Low flow adapters use lower amounts of water for washing dishes and taking showers.  Less water means less energy to heat it up.

Choose energy efficient appliances.  These appliances have a breakdown of the average annual cost to run them on a label on the front of the appliance so that consumers can compare before they buy.  These appliances cost you less on your utility bill each year.  Using cold water in your energy efficient appliances to wash dishes and clothing saves more energy that using hot water as well.

Have the energy company do an audit of your home.  Audits show home owners where the energy guzzling areas are in their home.  Once they are identified, steps can be taken to fix them.

Invest in ceiling fans.  If you don’t have one, get one.  They are a great alternative to playing the “thermostat game”.  Ceiling fans keep homes cool in the summer by circulating the air.  The thermostat can be set at a constant temperature and the fan used to cool the room.  In conjunction with ceiling fans, turning off the lights in a room also provides a cooling effect.

Help your refrigerator do its job.  I’ve seen my kids standing in the refrigerator with the door open like they were waiting for the food to fly into their hands.  Keeping the door open warms the refrigerator.  It is in effect trying to cool everything around it.  This requires more energy.  The same goes for placing hot food in the fridge to cool off.  The added heat makes the motor run longer to re-cool the inside cabin.  Condensation can cause ice to build up in the system and stop the refrigerator from working.

If you already use any of these tips you are on your way to saving money.  If not, this is a good place to start.  Saving energy takes some thought and time, but each little bit adds up and once you start seeing the savings, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do them before.