Energy-Efficient Home Improvements
Home Improvements: If you’ve been delaying making certain home improvements because you don’t think small changes can make that much of a difference to the cost of running your house, it’s time to think again.
If you’ve been delaying making certain home improvements because you don’t think small changes can make that much of a difference to the cost of running your house, it’s time to think again. With a few small changes, not only will you reduce the carbon footprint you leave behind, you will keep more of your hard-earned money to spend on something more enjoyable than electricity bills.
The single biggest expense of running a home is the cost of heating and cooling. Making sure your home is properly insulated is a huge step in the right direction. If you live in Southern California, experts in Orange County attic insulation techniques will help you achieve your insulation needs.
Small Changes Make A Big Difference
Most households use incandescent light bulbs to illuminate their homes; as many as 30-60 light bulbs are used in the average house. Did you know a LED bulb uses approximately 75% less energy than traditional bulbs? Not only that, but LEDs also have a longer life span. Lighting bills account for about 10% of your electricity bill, changing your light bulbs to LEDs will save you around $210-$420 a year.
Use smart technology to your advantage. By installing a smart thermostat, not only can you control the temperature of your home remotely, you can maximize your efficiency to keep your home the most comfortable when you’re in it. If you have a larger home that is controlled by multiple thermostats, you can increase your savings exponentially. Each smart thermostat can save you approximately $200 a year.
Swap out your normal shower head for one that is low flow. Although it decreases the amount of water you use, it offers consistency by using pressure compensation so you don’t even realize you’re using less water. Replacing water fixtures with more efficient ones will reduce your water usage, and also your bill, by about half.
Solar Power
Instead of paying to light up the exterior of your house or sidewalks and paths through your property, let mother nature do the work for you. Invest in solar lights and use them to line your driveway or walking paths so you don’t have to worry about the cost of illumination. The same applies to festive string lights for your deck or patio. They turn on automatically when it goes dark and turn off when it brightens up again.
Appliance Smart
Appliances are another drain on energy in your house. Even if not in use or fully charged, appliances or devices that are plugged in will continue to use electricity. Where possible, unplug appliances that are not in use. After your cell phone or tablet is charged, unplug that too. As an alternative to unplugging, you can invest in smart plugs. Smart plugs will only allow a plugged-in device to use energy when the device needs it. This eliminates the wasteful, constant trickle of electricity.
Replacing ceiling fans with smart fans will also help reduce the cost of heating and cooling your home. They sync up with your smart thermostat and automatically adjust themselves to the correct rotation direction and speed to help to keep temperatures constant and reduce needless energy usage.
The average water heater is designed to keep water hot in your home, even if you aren’t there to use it. This can add to wasted resources and unnecessarily higher utility bills. If you install an occupancy sensor to your tank, it will recognize when your house is empty and not heat the water needlessly.
By making a few small changes to how you use the appliances in your home and implement smart technology where possible, you can easily save approximately $1,000 annually.