Being a homeowner is something that many wish to be at some point in their life, but they fail to recognize the other aspects of owning the home—taxes, maintenance tasks, and bills. One of those bills that’s incredibly annoying and seemingly growing every month is the electricity bill. Read on to learn about some easy ways to increase your home’s energy efficiency and lower your monthly bill.
Update Your Appliances
Appliance manufacturers typically built older appliances without the best efficiency since technological advances were limited in the past. Therefore, these appliances use lots of power to get the job done, whether they’re microwave ovens, washing machines, toasters, etc. Newer appliances have higher Energy Star ratings, meaning the manufacturers design them to use as little electricity as possible while still delivering the same results people expect. So consider updating if you want to lower your electricity usage. In addition to upgrading your appliances, you should be mindful of the optimal conditions that you should keep them in to ensure they work as efficiently as possible. For example, your refrigerator should have about an inch of space on all sides for better circulation, and you should clean its cooling coils periodically.
Ensure Your Equipment Works Properly
One critical thing you can do to increase your energy efficiency and lower your energy bill is to ensure that your equipment is working correctly. For example, if a piece is malfunctioning, your AC unit can work much harder and use more electricity to give you the level of cooling or heating you want. Similarly, suppose you have something like solar panels on your tile roof. In that case, you should ensure that the installer properly sealed the solar mounts. Doing so prevents damage to your roof and to the solar panel itself, which hampers its ability to harvest solar power. If something is faulty, you won’t find out immediately. Instead, you’ll learn the truth about a month later when your electricity bill is through the roof.
Get Better Insulation
Another great way you can improve your home’s energy efficiency is to invest in better insulation. A significant portion of your electricity bill comes from heating and cooling. Without proper insulation, much of that gets lost. Without good insulation, this hot and cold air can exit the home, leaving you with a constantly running system and nothing to show for it. Quality insulation will keep the heat in when you need it and keep you cool in the warmer months. The insulation is an investment you’ll make. But it’s well worth it when your bill is much lower, and you can stay cool or warm for much longer.
Increase your home’s energy efficiency with these easy tips, and you’ll soon be happier with your monthly bill. Of course, it sadly won’t be zero at the end of the day, but it’ll be less than it was before, allowing you to reinvest that money elsewhere!
