By now we are all aware that we need to reduce our energy consumption not only for our environment but also where most of us will notice it the most. Our wallets. Electricity and gas are on, what seems to be, a never ending upwards climb. But even as costs keep raising here are some of the best and easiest ways to reduce your energy bills.
1. Water Consumption: Most homes use way more water than they actually need. Start with your shower by replacing the shower head with a low-flow shower head. If you’ve used one in the past and found them lacking in pressure, shop around. There are ones on the market that offer good pressure while saving you money on your water bill.
Next tackle your toilet. Here you have a couple of options. You can either replace your current toilet for one that uses less water, and even better would be a dual flush model. Or you can make your old toilet a little less thirsty by placing a plastic container filled with stones into the tank to displace, and therefore fill it, with less water.
Finally add aerators to your faucets in your kitchen and bathrooms. These work by increasing the pressure of the water from the tap and introducing air bubbles so that it feels like there is more water coming out than there actually is.
2. Seal Off The House: The biggest threat to heat loss in a home can be hard to notice. All of the little cracks and leaks around windows and doors may not seems like much but added together and the loss can be huge. In fact most experts agree that all of these cracks can add up to a hole about 1 foot square. Replace weather stripping and seals were need.
And for those hard to find leaks use a burning stick of incense. Hold it near doors and windows and any draft will disturb the smoke. As an added benefit your home will smell nice too.
3. Change Those Bulbs: Recently Australia made a move to ban the sale of incandescent light bulbs and it is not as crazy as you might think. Just by changing half of all the light bulbs in the high traffic areas of your home with compact fluorescents could reduce your electric bill by half. Now think of what your electric bill would look like if you replaced the rest of those incandescents with fluorescents.
New compact fluorescents are now available for almost any type of fixture or application and they are no longer just bright white, making your home look like an office. Get something in a soft white and you won’t know the difference. And most of all the price has come way down since they were first introduced.
By doing a few simple and low cost changes in your home you can save yourself a bundle on your utility bills and have the added benefit of knowing that you have done your part for our planet.
Cindy Cody is a real estate professional specializing in the Kitchener Waterloo real estate market. Feel free to inquire about Kitchener Ontario Real Estate and search for Waterloo real estate for your next home purchase.
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