Does the prospect of winter make you shiver at that drop in temperature? During the cold snap, you’ll probably be spending more time away from your farm and indoors.
Even if you have a property that is adequately insulated, if there are any little cracks in the structure, a draft from outside can be allowed to enter your home.
This seemingly small reduction in efficiency can cause your utility bills to increase. You will find yourself in the frustrating scenario of warming air that doesn’t actually remain in your home.
As well as your heating though, your lighting and hot water are huge contributors to your monthly electric bills.
As rates have been increasing by around 3.7% every year since ‘14, it is not just helpful, but essential that you learn some clever ways to make savings on your utility bills.
3Thermo, the inventors of the first ever hidden radiators system with inner wall heating gave us 5 tips to reduce your energy bill.
Make Sure Heat Does Not Escape
The best way to start ensuring that your energy bills are kept as low as possible is by making sure no heat is able to escape your home.
Check there are no cracks in the door sealing or window. You can do this by lighting a candle and if it starts to flickers, you know there is air escaping.
You can also invest in gadgets that can check for air leaks too. When you find a leak, you can seal it by caulking it.
Although it’s not the most visually-stunning solution, you may want to use an adhesive seal. Weather stripping will help prevent air escaping doors.
Don’t Overuse Lighting
Although energy-efficient light bulbs are a step in the right direction, because of how little heat they produce, you could still pay as much on your bills.
Use a dimmer and you could save between 5% and 50% on your heating costs overall.
By far though, the best way to reduce your bills is to avoid leaving lights on when they don’t need to be on.
Make Sensible Appliance Choices
As the most commonly used appliances in your home use around 20% of the total energy consumed by your household, it is important to make sensible choices when buying them.
Look for the Energy Star and EnerGuide logos and you’ll see a sharp reduction in your energy bills.
Also, it’s worth noting that using a toaster or kettle could save between 40% and 70% in energy costs compared to using your stove.
Be Smart With Water Usage
Perhaps the most surprising part of your bill is hot water consumption. 20% of your total bill is taken up by the cost of heating water. Look into installing a more efficient water heater from sites like Waterheaterreviewssite.com
To avoid wasting water, at anything up to 800-liters a month, check faucets aren’t leaking and always tightly turned off.
Try to use cold water for clothes washing, because of the energy used by your washing machine, 90% goes towards heating water.
There are even washing detergents that can clean clothes more effectively with cold water.
Replace Thermostats
Lastly, one of the things you may never have actually considered, but by replacing old thermostats, especially those that are not electronic with modern systems you could save around 10% off your heating bills every year.
Furthermore, by turning the heating down just by 3-degrees before you leave your house or at night, you could save an extra 5%. It is also wise to lower your heating to 15-degrees in rooms that are currently uninhabited.
