Almost everyone is at least slightly concerned with their finances at one point or another. As a part of this, you might be looking for ways that you can reduce your costs and save yourself more money each month. In addition to saving money, many people are also concerned with making smart decisions that will help the environment and the world at large. So to help you better accomplish both of these goals, here are three tips for making your home more energy efficient and saving you some money in the process.
Know What You’re Paying Your Utility Company For
Before you can begin taking steps that will help make your home more energy-efficient, you first need to know what areas of your home aren’t functioning as efficiently as they should be. To help you figure this out, you might want to take a look at your utility bills to see exactly how much you’re paying for certain services. According to Matthew Heimer, a contributor to the DIY Network, about 44 percent of your utility bill is from heating or cooling your home. In most homes, 33 percent is then used for lighting, cooking, and using most other appliances. Heating your water takes up about 14 percent. So if you’re looking at your bills and are seeing that your numbers are much different, this can help you pinpoint places where you can become more energy efficient. Timely inspection of your HVAC units such as your air conditioning, heating units, and ventilators can prove beneficial to your appliance’s longevity and save you from a lump sum one-time bill. You could check out highly recommended Farmer City HVAC companies like Castle Home Comfort Heating & Cooling for resolutions to your HVAC problems.
Create A Barrier Around Your Home
As was mentioned above, the biggest single drain on your utilities comes from heating and cooling your home. Because of this, it only makes sense that you’d want to do everything in your power to make sure your home is really good at keeping the heat or the cold in, depending on the season. To help with this, Better Homes and Gardens suggests that you better seal and insulate your home in order to create a barrier around your entire structure. The fewer cracks or gaps you having around things like doors and windows, the less air will be able to escape or get inside and wreak havoc with the temperature you’re trying to keep consistent.
Don’t Forget To Unplug
Even when you’re not actively using an appliance, it’s still using up energy and causing your utility bills to be higher. According to Barbara Eldredge, a contributor to Curbed.com, this energy can be cut down drastically by simply unplugging the item when you’re not using it. By unplugging things from the wall rather than just turning them off, energy isn’t still being fed into the appliance at all.
If you’re wanting to save on utility costs and help improve the natural world, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn what steps you can start taking today.
