The electric bill is most often the priciest bill of the month. Fortunately, there are many simple steps you can take to lower your home energy consumption, thus lowering your electric expenses and decreasing pollution as well.
- During the summer months, keep window coverings tightly closed. This prevents the warm sunlight from heating your rooms, therefore decreasing the need to use the air conditioning system. On the contrary, during the winter months, keep blinds and curtains open, allowing the sun to shine into your home.
- When the television is not in use, turn it off. Same goes for lights, radios, computers, etc.
- Clean your furnace, air conditioner and air exchanging system filters regularly, as often as monthly. Clean filters mean less dirt is trapped in the machine, thus allowing them to work more efficiently.
- In the winter keep your thermostats as low as possible. Wear an extra sweater or sleep with a few blankets on your bed. When you are not using rooms, be sure to keep the heat turned off in them, and seal the room off by closing the door tightly. In the summer be sure to use the air conditioner only in rooms you are using. Seal off rooms you are not using.
- Consider using fans in place of AC. They use less energy, therefore are cheaper to run.
- Start washing your clothes in cold water as opposed to warm or hot. Purchase cold water detergents; they allow for your clothes to get just as clean as they would in hot water.
- Be sure to only operate the dishwasher, washing machine and clothes dryer when they have full loads. Take quick showers or very shallow baths.
- Replace the weather stripping around doors and windows every couple of years to be sure that the cracks are tightly sealed and heat isn’t escaping.
- Consider replacing windows with storm windows, which minimize the amount of heat that escapes from your home.