Managing a home involves overseeing significant amount of expenses every month including a costly energy bill. With a family to provide for, children to care for, cars, a house, and personal needs to take care of, money is all too easy to slip away.
To reduce the potential hit from an energy bill, home energy solutions should be in place. Most homes can be improved just by following simple tips and understanding how they save energy in the entire home.
Here are 5 home energy solutions to help reduce a lofty energy bill
1. Use Ceiling Fans
Many home owners will have ceiling fans across the house, which when used effectively can both heat or cool a room with less energy than a heater or air conditioning system. By adjusting ceiling fans to spin counter clockwise, this will change the air flow from the bottom of the room to the top allowing for cool air to circulate. Clockwise air flow goes from top to bottom, forcing warm air down.
2. Insulation and Sealing
Often overlooked area where heat can travel between the outside to or from the house. Checking door gaps, chimney or fireplace areas, and mainly windows can greatly reduce the transfer of lost energy from the controlled home temperature versus the outside temperature. A poorly insulated room can easily be the source of lost heating and cooling.
3. Thermostat Programming
Another way to keep your house’s internal heating and cooling stable which evens out the energy bill, is a programmable thermostat. Set the program to keep a steady 68 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 55 to 58 degrees Fahrenheit at night. Allowing this schedule to go every day with small adjustments as wanted will help create a consistent and manageable energy bill.
4. Unplug Unused Electronics
The term of stand by or “vampire” power is a fairly common phrase to describe the energy drain from TV’s, stereos, computers, etc. that are off but are still receiving an electric current from an outlet or power strip. When leaving your home for extended periods of time unplug those electronics or turn off the power strip they are connected too.
5. Clean Air Filters
And lastly, get clean air filters for your home’s air ducts once every 6 to 12 months. This can depend on the location of the home; dustier areas will need air filters cleaned more often. For air filter cleaning and other air duct cleaning work click here for a free estimate.
Using these tips to reduce the energy bill will help greatly in the coming months as the days heat up.