As it continues to get colder outside, your energy bills will continue to rise. What many homeowners are unaware of, though, is that your house could actually be costing you more than it should. Besides replacing products with energy-efficient ones, there are some other steps you need to take to make sure your home is saving as much as it possibly can on your energy bill.
Did you know that your roof, walls, windows, and even doors could be letting that heat escape? Well, here are some steps to take to make sure this is not the case and to reduce your energy bill by almost twenty percent.
- Insulation is key! Make sure you have at least 9 inches of insulation, anything less could be leaking air out and anything more is most likely unnecessary. You don’t have to replace your current insulation though, if possible you can fluff out the current one or you can just add an extra layer on top of it.
- Do you have drafts coming from your windows, doors, baseboards, pipes, or vents? This is the second thing to check while doing this home inspection. To test this out make sure to turn off all fans, heating, and air conditioner systems, then light a candle and place it near all windows, doors, baseboards, pipes, and vents. If the candle flickers or goes out then you have found a draft and it needs to be sealed. This can be done by using caulk in the gaps on walls and windows, using weather-stripping for under the doors, and making sure the vents are the proper size and adding foam insulation around them. Also by using drapes that are heavier to cover the windows during the evening, it will help keep heat in.
- Make sure you have a decent thermostat in place. By having an out-of-date/older thermostat in place it could be costing you more money since you can only set it at a single temperature. If you buy either a programmable thermostat or a more expensive smart thermostat you can save some money by being able to set different temperatures throughout the day. That way when you are not at home you can set the temperature at a lower number, raise it when you are at home, and lower it while you are a sleep; helping save on your heating cost. Also if you have a fireplace, light a fire every once in a while, that way you can lower the thermostat and just warmth through the fireplace.
- Having devices in stand-by mode can increase your electric bill. If you are unsure, stand-by mode is when your device—such as computers, game consoles, and more—goes into an idle mode when it is not used after a certain amount of time. To help solve this problem you can setup your devices to go into a power-saving mode instead through the settings. Also older power strips and power adapter usually are more prone to using more electric, if the power strip or adapter gets warm throughout use, it should be replaced for a newer model.
- Is your landscaping outside fit to help with energy costs? By having trees placed in the right areas it could help you out. Evergreen trees are a good way to reduce the wind hitting your home. By placing these types of trees, at least two to five times the trees height away from the house, it will help the cold not hit your home as hard. Also make sure that sun is able to flow into your home during the winter months, that way you also get warmth the natural way during the day time.
- If you prefer to see how your homes energy is being used you can get an energy audit. Normally energy companies will do an energy audit free of charge, but know that they aren’t usually as thorough as a private companies audit. If you choose to use a private company, they will normally check your home using thermographic imaging and air-leaking testers. By doing this they can let you know where you are wasting the most energy and how you can fix the problems.
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