Ways To Lower Your Energy Bill
A house is as good as how much it saves your wallet. Some nice-looking homes will cost a fortune to maintain. Energy expenses are recurring costs that can put a dent in your wallet. Fortunately, there are simple and cost-effective ways to lower your energy bill.
1. Optimise Energy Consumption of the Heating and Cooling System
To effectively lower your energy bill, you must ensure the heating and air conditioning system works at optimum efficiency. Some of the ways to achieve this are:
Insulating the Ducts
Poorly insulated ducts lead to leakage of heat energy to the surrounding. As a result, the system uses more power to attain and maintain the required fluid temperature. Checking the insulation would help, but if the ducts are old, a new installation will be necessary.Keep the Air Filters Clean
Professionals recommend cleaning the HVAC systems every 30 days to keep their performance at optimum. It takes a lot of energy to push air through dirty filters. Additionally, one should ensure that furniture or wall décor is not blocking the ducts as this has the same effect on energy consumption as clogged filters.2. Save Energy by Eliminating Phantom Loads
Not every electrical appliance stops drawing power when off. They use what experts have termed as phantom or vampire loads. Starting a device takes a lot of energy, but it is not as much as when it is left seeping little amounts of power for hours. Even though the load is negligible for a single device, it compounds if one has several connected idle electronics. The best ways of reducing phantom energy losses are: • Switch off the computer monitor when leaving for 20 minutes and the entire system when leaving for more than an hour. • Unplug all electronics such as TV when retiring to bed, going to work, or leaving the house. • Use a smart strip/power bar to automatically switch off the power supply to plugged devices that are not in use.3. Reduce Energy Use Through Balanced Usage
Balancing load on an appliance to get the optimum result at reduced expenses can significantly reduce electricity usage. An example is using the washing machine at full capacity instead of washing small batches. The device consumes less energy for the same amount of work. Other ways are: • Fully loading the dishwasher before washing. • Drying loads of clothing consecutively instead of between loads.• Filling up the freezer. The food also acts as an insulator, reducing heat loss.
