Your home could be using more energy than necessary, and if you want to make it more energy efficient, then we have some excellent tips for you. Keep on reading to find out how you can improve the energy efficiency of your home and make it more environmentally friendly and less costly to live in.
Keep Large Appliances Clean
There are a few cleaning tasks that will work wonders at making your home use less energy. One of the more important ones to focus on is cleaning your large appliances. Some of them will have vents that allow them to release hot air (like your drying machine). Cleaning these parts ensures that the machines work with less effort, using less energy and creating fewer air pollution problems.
Clean the outside of the refrigerator and washing machine as well to ensure that everything is connected properly and working well. These kinds of appliances can leak or have other issues that you might catch when you are cleaning. Be sure to clean them every so often so you can find problems quickly.
For major cleaning projects, you might want to call on professional services that have convenient and flexible house cleaning options. You can get help there to make your home tidy without you having to stress yourself.
Install Smart Temperature Control
If you are having to change the temperature in your home manually all the time, you could be wasting a lot of energy. What happens when you leave your house but you want to come back to a home that is the right temperature for you? With a smart temperature control, you can have the heating and cooling system shut down for hours while you are at work and then activate before you come home to prepare the temperature for you. That is a much more energy efficient method.
That is just one example of how smart controls will save you a lot of money, but even with that one example, you can see how the savings might add up day after day. Keep this option in mind when you are looking for cost-savings for energy usage.
Decrease Power Supply Wastage
Some of the devices in your home will stay active even when no one is using them. Some of the biggest culprits are chargers, computers, and televisions. Do you really need them to be draining electricity and staying active when you are not using them?
You can simply unplug some of these, and then plug them back in when you need them. That may be a little too much hassle in some cases, so see if there is a smart mode or low power mode that you can activate. For smart TVs, video game consoles, and some other modern electronics, you can activate a power saver mode that will drain a lot less energy each week, and that can really add up. For other electronics, though, there really is no better way to save energy and money than to simply unplug them or shut them all the way down when not in use.
Remember to shut your computer down rather than put it into sleep mode. The difference could be significant when you add it up over the course of the year.
Seal Up Your Home
Is your home sealed up tightly or are there leaks where outside air can get in and inside air can escape? You will want to secure your home well so that this doesn’t happen.
You first need to inspect all doors and windows, making sure that no air is seeping there. You may need to put some insulation or caulking in place there to make for tighter seals, or even install a rubber sealing strip that will create an airtight guard against escaping air. This cuts down on energy usage for you and ensures that your heating and cooling system doesn’t have to work so hard.
There is a good way to check for drafts of air coming into a doorway or window. You can take a small candle, light it, and place it next to the door or window. If the flame flickers, then air is passing through.
If you don’t feel comfortable sealing up your home, thinking you might make a mistake or might not do a good job, then you can hire a handyman for the work. Just let them know what you are wanting done and that you want to cut down on energy use with the project, and they can create the airtight seals for you using the most appropriate materials.
You should also check the ductwork. Make sure that it is well sealed and has no leaks. You don’t want hot air escaping through the ducts and affecting the temperature of the home or making your system work harder unnecessarily.
Change the Bulbs
The light bulbs you are using might not be very energy efficient. If you want to save some money on your lighting bill, then change out your current bulbs for energy efficient ones. Choose ones that are designed to cut your costs for you and use less energy. If you can change all of your bulbs for energy efficient ones, that could create some incredible savings over time.
Prevent Heat Loss
There may be a couple areas of your home where you experience heat loss often, and you can deal with those to preserve heat in the home and cause less power loss. Start with the water heater, ensuring it is well insulated. Make sure that it is protected from losing a lot of its heat. You can either buy an insulated water heater or make insulation for yourself using a thick blanket or some insulation. Wrap that tightly around the heater to prevent heat loss.
The other area you need to focus on is the roof. Make sure there is plenty of insulation under the roof so that heat does not escape. You may need that work to be done professionally for your safety, but it can make a huge difference in your heating bill.
