Cut Your Energy Bills
We all use energy in our house. We do it 24 hours a day. All the time! While there is nothing wrong with using the energy to satisfy our needs, it could be wrong if you’re just wasting it. Saving energy is important for several reasons. First, it adds value to your home. Insulation and solar panels are just some of the energy-saving practices and they both can add significant value to your home.
When you start saving energy, you are helping the planet by lowering your carbon emissions. Finally, using less energy will help you save more money and this is exactly how to do it!
1. Use energy-efficient appliances
Using the proper appliances is the first step in this eco- and wallet-friendly journey. If you’re in the process of buying new appliances or replacing the old ones, you should definitely look for some energy-efficient ones. They will use less energy and you’ll soon notice the difference in your electricity bills.
If you’re moving to a new place, this is the perfect time for you to buy these appliances. If not, you can change one by one. That way, you won’t lose too much money at once and you’ll cut the bills successfully.
2. Add insulation
A simple way to start saving more energy is by adding insulation to your home. You have probably noticed that you use the most energy during the cold winter months. The largest amount of the used energy goes for heating purposes.
However, a worrying amount of heat can leak from your home. That is unless you have already insulated your home. You can insulate by installing double glazing on windows, a chimney draught excluder, or insulating the pipes as well.
3. Buy a boiler
If you’re looking for a long-term way to cut your electricity bills, then you should replace your old boiler as quickly as possible. The old gas boilers tend to be inefficient, which is not something you want in your home. Sometimes, it’s better to get a new one than to fix the one you already have.
You could save hundreds of dollars as soon as you install the new boiler. Of course, you’re going to spend some money on the boiler and some more on the installation. However, it will pay off quickly and you’ll save much more money in the long term.
4. Check your windows and doors
You shouldn’t forget that the cold air can get into your home easily if the doors and windows aren’t properly sealed. The fridge and the freezer can also let the cold air out if they’re not sealed well. All of this can lead to you turning up the heat and wasting more energy.
On the other hand, if the seals are all perfect, you won’t have this issue. You could improve the situation even more by installing cellular blinds. They boost insulation and help you maintain the perfect temperature of a room a whole year long.
5. Replace light bulbs
Another way to save more energy is to replace your light bulbs. The one you already have could be wasting your energy unnecessarily. If you haven’t already, you should start getting LED bulbs and improving your electricity use.
However, you shouldn’t just rely on these bulbs to save energy. You should do it too! Whenever you exit a room, make sure that you’ve turned off the lights. Remind your family not to do this either and you’ll have issues here whatsoever!
6. Pay attention to the details
The smartest way to cut your electricity bills is to pay attention to the details such as turning the lights off. Even the energy-efficient appliances won’t help as much as they could if you keep leaving them plugged in when you’re not using them.
In the kitchen, you can use the microwave more often, use a slow cooker, defrost frozen food in the fridge, and use the pan suitable for the amount of food you’re preparing. When doing laundry, wash the clothes at 30-40 °C whenever possible and hang them up to dry them.
7. Lower your water use
The world water crisis is a good enough reason for every single one of us to think about our water use habits. When it comes to electricity bills, they can be significantly increased if you heat your water way too often.
There are several ways to change this. If you have a hot water tank, you can heat just as much water as you need. An eco-shower head will quickly cut down on excessive hot water use. If you isolate the pipes and the hot water tank, you’ll have the water warmed for longer.
8. Install solar panels
Using solar energy can do a lot for the environment and for your electricity bills as well. Besides lowering your carbon footprint, thanks to the solar panels, you could reduce the usage of the grid and fossil fuels too!
This is bound to cut your electricity bills. You can do even more with a solar battery. This will allow you to store renewable electricity. As a result, you’ll cut on using even more energy from the grid and you’ll use the energy whenever you need it without paying extra for it!
9. Stay warm by layering up
This winter, don’t reach for your thermostat as soon as the temperature starts dropping. Instead, try and stay warm in other ways. For instance, you could wear more jumpers inside. Warm socks and slippers will also help you keep your body temperature up.
During the night, throw an extra blanket on the bed and resist the urge to turn the heating up. Keeping your thermostat down for just 1°C can save you a lot of money, which is exactly why you shouldn’t turn it up unless it really is necessary! You don’t want to get sick in order to save more money!
Conclusion
You can reduce your energy usage in many different ways. With these tips, you’ll effectively lower your electricity bills, make your home more eco-friendly, and generally feel better than ever knowing how great of solutions you’ve found for these important matters!
