Making Your Home More Energy Efficient
WITHOUT Burning A Hole In Your Pocket
You don’t have to take out a second mortgage in order to considerably cut your utility costs . Yes, ET Solar Panels are sweeping roof tops across the country and although they pay for themselves after several years its still a HUGE chunk of dough to cough up. I’m the kind of person who likes to see immediate reductions in my costs rather than wait a few years in order to see a value! So if you aren’t in the position to upgrade to revolutionary green technology then here are a few things you can do today to start reducing those utility bills.
Turn Down The Heat Always keep an eye on your thermostat. It is imperative to heat the home in the winter months only when you’re there. When the kids are in school and when you’re at the office all day make sure you turn your thermostat down to a minimum heat. Homes these days tend to heat up fast so reducing the heat when no one’s home will curb those heating costs. Having just a few minutes of discomfort is better than the discomfort of an out-of-control heating bill. If you don’t have a timer than consider having one installed to eliminate having to make daily conscious efforts.
Stay Cool If energy were cookies than the A/C is the cookie monster. It consumes the most energy in the house and it is the number one thing that drives your utility bill up. Typically home owners experience their electric costs to be close to double in the summer than in the winter. By keeping your thermostat as close to 78 degrees as you can during the blazing months you can reduce your costs up to 30%! Pull your shades and close your blinds when you’re not at home to keep rooms as cool as possible. Standing fans take up half of the electricity as ceiling fans do so consider using them. Make sure all sliding glass doors and windows are sealed shut to avoid draining the A/C all day. And as obvious as this sounds, drink a lot of water during the winter to keep your body temperatures cooler!
Use Only LED Lights Replace every bulb in your house with LED bulbs. Yes, they’re 3X the amount of regular bulbs but they pay for themselves within the first electric bill you receive. Just one LED bulb replacement saves 400 pounds of greenhouse gases. Don’t leave lights on that aren’t needed. This seems pretty obvious and we grow up being told this by our parents but people still leave tons of lights on in the house for no reason. For security reasons and if you don’t like coming home to a dark house then get a timer and set one of your living room lamps to turn on before sundown. Motion sensors for your outdoor lights helps a lot as well rather than having them on throughout the night.
Conserve Water I love to soak in a hot bath after work with a glass of wine and candles burning. My career keeps me so busy I relish in relaxing at the end of a hardworking day. But if I took more baths instead of showers the only thing I’d be bathing in is a high water bill! Showers consume 25% less water than baths and when you and every family member in your household take two showers a day that makes a healthy difference in comparison to baths. Also, I know I’m going to sound like your mother but don’t brush your teeth with the water running, run the dishwasher only when it’s full, water your lawn only early in the morning or later in the evening, and fix all leaks or running toilets right away. These little things go a long way!
Replace Your Old Washer & Dryer This is obviously the most expensive thing to do on this list but these appliances take up more energy than your other appliances. When you can afford to upgrade to an energy efficient washer and dryer do so and you will praise yourself. The dryer is a huge utility killer and regular washing machines use way more water than necessary. If you live in a big household doing about 15 to 20 loads of laundry a month is a paramount when you have energy efficient appliances! If you can’t afford to buy new you can buy used energy efficient washers and dryers on Craigslist as well as used appliance stores. Trust me your wallet will be so relieved you made the switch!
Reference: Betterhomesandgarden.com
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If you or someone you know is interested in buying or selling
a Nashville Home please contact:
Emily Lowe
The Lipman Group | Sotheby's International Realty
Office: (615) 463-3333 / Cell: (615) 509-1753
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