7 Surefire Energy Saving Tips for Your Home

Below are surefire tips on how you can make your home more energy efficient and lower your power consumption’s and costs.

1. More Sunlight In

Your home’s lighting needs account for around 10% -20% of your energy bill. You cannot do without light in your house, but you can lower how much power you consume therein saving money.

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You can stay by leveraging daylight. It may sound a bit cliché, but it works; you get energy-efficient, free lighting. Just pull but those curtains during the day and allow the sunlight to beam in and light up the house.

Some rooms may lack enough natural daylight, but that does not mean you should walk about in the dark stumbling over things. Nevertheless, you do need to look at options that will allow more natural light in before you opt to switch on the bulbs.

Also, avoid turning on the lights when you have enough natural light in; switch off the lights.

2. Invest In Energy Saving Bulbs

You should remove all high voltage lamps and bulbs in your home and replace them with the more energy-efficient types. The power consumption of most of these bulbs consume is 80% less than what the traditional ones do and last ten times longer.

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Some may urge that some types of bulbs help in warming up the place before they get home; it is a valid argument. But that does not warrant leaving the lights on for hours on end. You can install timers that will manage when the bulbs come on and during appropriate hours.

3. Spend In Shrewd Investments

Much of the advice given points towards digging into your pocket. While you may have to spend a bit, your investment should be long-term thus saving your money in the long run.

Update the insulation in your home, install solar panels, have the boiler serviced periodically and these things will cumulatively, together with the energy efficient lighting upgrades, lower your power consumption.

• Insulation helps preserve the natural and artificial heat generated in your home lowering the dependency on your HVAC. Doing some upgrades on your walls can help you make significant savings in your heating and cooling bills. Upgrading the insulation in your cavity walls and loft can see you save around $360 off the energy costs.
• Harnessing the power of the sun can be a meaningful investment that substantially slushes your energy bills saving you more than $1,200 annually. It can also be a side hassle that makes you some extra money if the solar power setup is huge enough to generate surplus power that you can sell. Research on the various solar PV systems to know more.
• Your boilers should be serviced periodically to maintain their efficiency. However, that is as energy-efficient as it gets. They still consume significant energy but ensuring they are running at their optimal capacity can be a huge difference in the amount you pay for your energy costs at the end of the month. You should consider upgrading to a new boiler if the old one keeps breaking down and getting repairs.

4. Renewable Energy

You can rely on the vast energy of the sun to even power your home needs such as heating the water. Solar water heating is the new solution and the ideal improvements for the traditional electric boilers.

Some of the solar water heating systems have a Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) that can see you get payments after several years of use with grants available to cater for the installation costs.

You should do some research on renewable technology to know what’s available out there. If you can’t set up your own, an energy comparison site can show you the energy providers that use green energy.

5. Seal The Gaps

Plug up any spaces or gaps in your windows and doors through which the heat escapes. Such opening allows some of the precious heat built in your house by the AC to escape, and that means the heating and cooling system works double, consuming more energy.

6. Smart Home Heating And Cooling

Smart thermostats are a popular option because they offer better and easier ways of managing your heating and cooling. Most will give alerts of their working efficiencies, and you can know if the thermostatic radiator, the thermostat, and the programmer are on the flits.

Nevertheless, servicing them at least once a year can help ensure they work at their optimal capacities. It can save you nearly $180 in your energy costs.

7. Running An Energy Efficient Kitchen

You may be a maestro in the kitchen, a master chef with a need for using the microwave and other kitchen appliances. Be it as it may, limiting energy wastage in the kitchen will be well worth the effort.

• When using the coffeemaker or hot kettle, just make sure that you avoid doing repeat jobs. Boil as much as needed and pour the rest into a hot mug or thermos so that others can use it rather than boil their own cups. The idea is to try to boil as frequently as needed therein avoiding wastage of energy.
• Keep the fridge well stocked because this will keep the internal setting cold for an extended period thus reducing the cooling cycles. A stocked refrigerator means you always have something that you can pick when you feel like it, and you will have the appliance doing fewer cycles and avoid wasting energy trying to cool empty spaces.
• Try and prepare several meals at the same time when using the oven. It will help reduce the power consumption, and you have a better organization of your meals. If you are done using the oven, leave the door open to allow the heat out so that it warms up the kitchen. Why let it go to waste when you can enjoy it?
• When cooking with an electric cooker, make sure that you use a pan with an appropriate base that completely covers the heating plate. Avoid using a big pot on small heating rings or small pans on the big heating rings so that you spend less time cooking and the appropriate amount of power needed. If possible, place lids over the pans when cooking so that you converse the heat in them and speed up the cooking process; plus, you also preserve the flavors of the various ingredients resulting in a flavorful meal.