Many of us have accepted absurd utility bills as par for the course—a part of life we just have to deal with if we want lights on at night, cooked food, and hot showers. It turns out that exorbitant utility bills are actually pretty easy to curb. The following will explore some simple tweaks you can make to help reduce your home’s energy consumption without sacrificing your family’s comfort.
Include Wool Dryer Balls In Your Laundry Regime:
It sounds so simple, it’s suspicious, but wool dryer balls work wonders. Just toss one into the dryer with your clothes and pay attention. Wool dryer balls tend to reduce the time required for clothes to dry by about 10%. Over time, these shorter dry cycles can save a ton of electricity and lower your bills in the process.
As a bonus, wool dryer balls do the work of fabric softener for you as well, so you’ll be saving a little more money on the side.
Change Up Your Lightbulbs:
Switching to LED light bulbs that are energy-efficient can end up saving you a lot of money over time without sacrificing brightness or light bulb lifespan. Use the savings calculator at this link if you don’t believe us. Your light bulbs seem tiny, but having them on is adding up.
Rethink Your Showerhead:
There are tons of showerheads on the market today, including ones that are designed to help reduce water waste. When it comes to hot water, this ends up cutting down your utility bill since wasting hot water also means wasting the electricity used to heat it.
Unplug Things You’re Not Using:
This one is a bit comical, as most of us assume that when an appliance or electronic device is turned off, it’s not using any power. For some absurd reason, this isn’t the case. If you make a mental note to unplug your laptop, coffee maker, or table lamp once you turn it off, you’ll see a difference in your utility bill. Anything that is plugged in is absorbing a bit of power. This adds up when you think of everything you own being plugged in overnight.
Wash Your Clothes In Cold Water:
Just like avoiding a wasteful showerhead can reduce your energy consumption by minimizing wasted hot water, washing clothes on a cold cycle can end up saving you money. It’s estimated a hot wash cycle costs about 50 cents per load; if you’re doing a ton of laundry, this can add up quickly.
Adjust Your Thermostat A Little:
Most of us aren’t so climate-sensitive that we’ll notice one or two or even three degrees difference. By tweaking your thermostat a few degrees, you could end up saving hundreds of dollars every year (more if you’re using electric heating). You likely won’t even notice the temperature difference.
Pay Attention To Timing:
Many utility companies present their clients with a summary of cheaper times to use energy (in most towns, this is at night). This means that switching your schedule up a bit and turning the dishwasher on at night or running laundry loads later in the evening can end up saving you money.
Look Into Insulation And Seals:
Drafty windows, gaps around doors, and poorly insulated walls/roofs can all lead to ridiculous utility costs. This is because as hard as your heating system or air conditioning system is working, the outside is also making its way in, resulting in your electronics having to work even harder to keep things at your desired temperatures. Hence, a Denver air conditioning repair professional is a must for help.
Look into caulking drafty windows, sealing up gaps, and repairing insulation where needed. A good indication of whether your home needs this is to wait for a very hot or very cold day and feel along with the windows, doors, and walls. You should be able to feel the outside air if it’s getting in.
Taking care of this sort of problem can save you hundreds each year and can also help keep your personal belongings safe from humidity and water damage.
When Replacing Appliances Learn About Efficiency:
We’re not suggesting you run out and buy all new appliances right this second, but when the time comes to replace something, take a moment to look for energy-efficient options. Learn about the average consumption of a particular appliance and see what you can do to get something that’s more efficient.
The above tips should help you lower the cost of your utilities by helping you better manage your energy consumption. The goal isn’t to go without entirely but to seek out small changes that can easily be made. All of these tweaks can add up to quite a big difference in utilities if you let it.
