Spending money on utility bills is never fun, especially when you consider just how many things you could be spending them on, which would be so much more fun for you. Of course, you can look at ElectricityRates.com to find a company with lower rates and switch your electricity provider. That’s a wonderful starting point, since it will ensure that you’re saving money when using the exact same amount of energy. However, there are also things you can do to minimize your energy usage. Let’s find out the best ways to cut energy costs.
Keep Track
This may sound trivial, but keeping track of your energy usage can prove to be of great help as far as figuring out where you’re wasting energy that is actually not needed. Indeed, it seems that over 50% of the money people spend on energy is spent on hot water and heating. As such, you should consider turning your room thermostat even by just one degree, since this little change can result in savings of nearly $100 a year.
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Get Curtains, and Close Them
Closing your curtains is extremely simple, but if can save you up to $40 a year. Why? Well, they can work to ensure that heat doesn’t escape out the windows. Something else that you can do in this sense is to draught proof your windows, and making sure that cracks in floors are blocked.
Turn Devices Off
If you turn your appliances off, rather than leave them on, but in the standby mode, you can save as many as nearly $40 a year. This is truly something extremely easy to do after you’ve gotten used to it, and since it can save money, it can be a great idea to try to implement it as much as possible.
Timer
There are timers that allow you to turn hot water and heating on half an hour before you wake up in the morning, and switch it off after you leave the house. You can also schedule them to come on half an hour before you come home. This is another great way of saving lots of energy that would otherwise be completely wasted.
Be More Mindful of Your Kitchen Appliances
If you pay more attention to how you use your appliances in the kitchen, you can save quite a bit of money during a year (as much as $60 in some cases!). Make sure that rather than washing your dishes under the tap, you could be washing them in a filled sink. When you fill your kettle, try to make sure that you only use the amount you’re actually going to use, since that can also save you some money. Finally, making sure that you’re only using your washing machine once a week can contribute to savings both on energy and water.
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Choose LED
LED lights are basically the most efficient energy-wise out there. The amazing thing about them is that they use as much as 90 % less energy than the traditional light bulbs. If you switch all of your bulbs to LED lights, you can save a little over $40 per year. Some people are turned off by the fact that these types of lights are more expensive than regular bulbs. However, if one takes into account the energy savings they facilitate, as well as the fact that they last a great deal longer than regular light bulbs, the more expensive upfront price actually turns into a cheaper long term cost.
No More Leaks
Leaks are never good, and everyone is aware of that. However, many people put off fixing leaks, not realizing that they can actually hurt their wallets quite a bit. With that in mind, it can be a very good idea to start fixing all leaks to ensure that you’re not literally throwing money down the drain.
No More Dryer
Dryers are awfully convenient, but they use nearly $140 a year. As such, try to air dry your clothes as often as possible, since this is free.
Full Washing Machine
When you wash your clothes with a washing machine, make sure that it is full, since this appliance will use less when taking care of a full load rather than when dealing with two half loads. In fact, this is also true of your dishwasher and tumble dryer.
Low Flow Taps
Reducing water usage is one of the best ways to cut energy costs. With that in mind, you can add flow limiters to your taps, or, if you’re looking to buy new ones, get ones that have built-in flow limiters. Another great idea is getting aerated showers and taps, since that creates the illusion of a lot of water flowing, when, in fact, they use a great deal less water than regular ones.
If you’re looking to save money, follow the smart ways to cut the energy costs. Not only is this going to help your wallet, but it also going to help the environment.
