Explore cost-effective ways to reduce energy this fall and stay snug in the coming seasons. The guide to minimizing your electricity costs.
Smart Ways to Save Energy This Autumn
Autumn, with its crisp breezes and the enchanting transformation of leaves, is undoubtedly a beloved season for many Americans. It’s that time of year when you can break out your coziest sweaters and savor the joys of the great outdoors. However, as the colder months gradually make their entrance, our inclination to huddle indoors and crank up the heater becomes all too familiar. Unfortunately, this cozier indoor lifestyle often results in skyrocketing energy bills. But fret not! There are savvy steps you can take to keep the chill at bay and your wallet happy. In this guide, we’ll explore ways to stay warm and comfortable without burning through your energy budget.
Here are eight suggestions to help you lower your energy costs this autumn:
Reduce Your Energy Usage This Fall with These Suggestions
1. Cut Down Water Heater Energy Consumption
Making hot water with a heating system uses up a lot of electricity.
A report from SFGate found that residential 240-volt water heaters consume a whopping 4,500 watts.
You can minimize how much energy your heating appliance uses by taking note of these tips:
• Use the dishwasher and clothes washer when they’re full.
• This will lower the amount of water and electricity used.
• Place a water heater blanket to help keep the heat in the system.
• Also, consider insulating the first few feet of pipes connected to the heating appliance.
• Get your water heater repaired if it’s taking too long to generate warm or hot water.
• You could also replace your current appliance requires frequent repairs. Newer models tend to have energy efficiency features to help you save on heating costs.
• Where possible, wash and clean your clothes using cold water.
• Lower the temperature of the heater between 130 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Add A Skylight
Skylights are very popular in modern homes today for the very reason that they add more natural light to your home.
Skylights refer to that space or hole in the roof that’s replaced with transparent glass.
It’s a great way to save on energy usage, especially during the fall season when it easily gets dark.
In the morning, when there’s a lot of light, your skylight can bring a lot of daytime lights inside so you can temporarily switch off any lights that aren’t necessary for the time being.
3. Change Your Furnace Filter Every Month
A dirty furnace filter affects the performance of your heating system.
It works harder to generate the heat necessary to regulate the temperature of your house, which translates to higher utility costs.
If your furnace filter is filthy, replace it with a new one as soon as possible.
This saves you money and prolongs the life of your heating system.
Having trouble remembering when to replace your filter?
Add a reminder on your mobile phone or a calendar to make sure that you perform the replacements consistently each month.
4. Let the Sun Heat and Light Up Your Home
During the day, open the curtains or blinds of your south-facing windows.
The sunlight will illuminate your room and keep your living spaces warm.
This eliminates the need for heating systems and artificial lighting during the daytime.
Here are some of the best tips you can apply so you can increase the amount of natural light that gets in your home:
Use mirrors.
These have a purpose that goes beyond just beautifying your home or giving you a means of seeing your reflection.
A mirror can also be strategically used to amplify the amount of natural light that comes into your home.
When placed strategically, mirrors can also reflect light into a dark room.
Re-paint your walls to white.
If you’ve got dark-colored walls and you truly wish to put more light in, without any hope of adding in windows or doors, the best way is to give your house a new paint job.
Changing the walls from a dark color to white is a good way to create a warmer and lighter environment in your house.
Create a window on a door.
Even when there’s no other wall around where you can break in a window, you can still sneakily do this in one area: your door.
Nowadays, it’s common to find doors with a window on the upper half of the door to bring more natural light in.
5. Reconfigure Your Ceiling Fans
These fans keep families cool when it runs counterclockwise.
Reversing the spin will keep you and the rest of the household warm.
The reconfigured ceiling fans will push warm air back down and redistribute the air from your heating appliance.
The redistribution prevents cool air pockets from staying in the room corners.
If you have a ceiling fan, you should consider getting one for your interior.
Drive to a home improvement store in your area and install this appliance in rooms that you use the most, such as the living room and the dining area.
6. Plug Your Electronics on a Power Strip
The gadgets plugged in your outlets still consume electricity even if they’re not on or running.
Electronics, such as television sets, speakers, wifi extenders, and gaming systems, will use energy unless you unplug them one by one.
Removing them from the outlet individually, however, can be impractical.
The solution, therefore, is to use a power strip for your electronics. This useful device supplies power to multiple devices from just a single outlet.
When you turn off the power strip and unplug it, your gadgets won’t consume electricity.
7. Decorate Your Home with Energy-Efficient Lights
If you’re thinking of decorating your home during Halloween, consider using lights that won’t drastically increase your energy consumption.
One lighting fixture you could consider is an LED bulb.
This little guy lasts longer than ordinary bulbs and uses less energy.
Along that line, here are other design tips you can apply to decorate your home with more energy-efficient lighting:
• Replace all of your existing non-LED lights with LED options.
• Limit the hourly usage of your lights at home. You don’t need to have all the lights switched on the entire evening, especially if these are only decorative.
• Consider using reflective decorating. These can multiply your need for the light to shine through space.
You can also tap the services of energy contractors who provide plans for home projects switching to LED lights you can apply for your home.
8. Check and Fix Air Leakage
Gaps and cracks in your walls, doors, and windows allow warm air to escape and cold air to enter.
This pushes your heating appliance to work harder to maintain the temperature in your rooms.
So check for drafts and seal them right away.
This stops heat from escaping and racking up your energy bills.
Invest in a Smart Thermostat
This device keeps track of your desired temperature settings.
It also has an auto-adjust feature that regulates room temperatures while keeping energy usage at a minimum.
By investing in a smart home system, you’ll never have to think about accidentally leaving the thermostat too high or too low again.
Final Word
Save money this autumn by taking note of these measures.
When winter comes in, you can look forward to a happy holiday – and an energy bill that won’t drain your savings.