Reducing our household bills is a battle that every homeowner participates in every month. Money might not be short, but it definitely doesn’t grow on trees and not many of us can afford to fork out hundreds of pounds monthly. Most us cannot afford to fork out hundreds of pounds monthly especially when we can cut back easily by switching energy suppliers. The majority of use, however, will not switch even when we know how much we could save. Why?
Browsing Tag
utilities
Here we go again. Winter will soon be here along with its snow storms and freezing cold weather. If you’re like me, you’re probably not looking forward to the increased heating costs. Below are some suggestions of ways to reduce your heating costs this winter. Stay warm!
1. Replace your furnace filter every couple of months to ensure your furnace is running efficiently.
2. Have your furnace cleaned every 2 to 3 years to maximize its efficiency.
3. Insulate your water heater with a water heater jacket.
4. Turn down the water heater temperature to approximately 50 degrees to conserve energy and save money.
5. Limit the use of bathroom and kitchen fans as they blow the warm air out of your home.
6. Check for drafts around your windows and doors. Use caulking or weather stripping to seal any openings.
7. Insulate your windows with window plastic.
8. Keep your blinds open during the day to let the sunshine warm the house. Once the sun goes down, close the blinds to further insulate your windows.
9. Before cranking up the heat, make sure you are wearing warm socks, slippers, and sweaters. Don’t be afraid to walk around wrapped in a fleece blanket either. Fleece blankets are a lot cheaper than your heating bill is ever going to be.
10. Make use of a programmable thermostat. Set it so that the temperature is lower when you are away from home as well as during the night.
11. To learn about more than 100 ways to save on your energy bill, check out this link.
There are a lot of ways that we can consciously conserve water around our home and yard. As a result, we will be paying less for our water bills as well as reducing the amount of water we waste. Overtime, these behaviors can have a significant positive impact on our environment and our pocketbook.
1. Take a shower instead of a bath. A 5-minute shower uses 30 to 40 gallons of water.
2. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth and shaving.
3. Collect rainwater to use to water your lawn and garden.
4. Use a water amplifying shower head
5. Install a water efficient toilet. (Flushing comprises about 35% of a household’s total water consumption, so your toilet’s efficiency has a significant impact on your water usage.)
6. Only run the dishwasher and the clothes washing machine when you have a full load. When doing laundry, if you do have a smaller load, be sure to change the settings to use less water.
7. Fix the leaky faucets around your home. Although one small drop is insignificant, if left unfixed, you will waste 10 gallons of water everyday.