If you’re like us, you’re always looking for ways to cut back on your monthly household bills. While things like your mortgage and insurance bills usually won’t budge, making just a few lifestyle changes can lower your energy bills each month. We’ve compiled seven tips for lowering your monthly electric and water bills below:
1) Get rid of standard incandescent bulbs and switch to LEDs in your home. Not only are they more efficient – up to 90% more – but they’ll also last up to 15 years or more! They also don’t contain harmful gases that can be troublesome if the bulb is broken.
2) “Phantom energy” or “standby power” is electricity that electronics and appliances use when they’re plugged in but not in use. To cut down on this excessive energy usage, unplug electronics when not in use or plug them into surge protectors so you can turn them off with a single switch.
3) Set the thermostat in your home to 72 degrees and raise it even higher when you’re not at home. Smart thermostats like the Nest even regulate temperature for you while you’re away and determine ideal efficiency temperature settings based on your habits.
4) Caulk and weather strip around your doors and windows so that hot air isn’t seeping inside and cool air isn’t finding its way outdoors. It may sound simple, but keeping your windows and doors shut (even garage doors!) can keep your home cooler and functioning more efficiently.
5) When your current appliances die, install Energy Star appliances that should save you up to 30% each year. Appliances manufactured before 2001 use a lot of energy – up to 40% more than the newest models.
6) Test out doing your laundry on the cold water setting to see if you get the same results as with hot water. Using hot water in your washing machine uses 90% more energy than cold water and the newest machines and detergent are usually efficient and powerful enough to get the job done without the assistance of hot water. Make your washer even more efficient by only doing full loads of laundry.
7) Install a water-efficient showerhead. If you think you’ll miss your powerful water flow showers, look for a showerhead that doesn’t allow water to flow until it’s fully heated. This can save you hundreds of gallons of water each year which can translate into big savings for you each month!