Lowering your monthly energy bill and adopting green energy practices usually go hand in hand. It’s very easy to dramatically lower your monthly energy bill by adopting easy practices that won’t change the way you live. The more you adopt, the more you’ll save. Follow these tips to lower your energy use, and be especially energy conscious during the winter months as energy companies usually raise their rates dramatically during this season.
1. Use Solar Attic Fans
Attic fans are installed in order to cool a hot attic by bringing in cool air from the outside while pushing the hot air from the inside to the outside. Opting to install a solar attic fan frees your attic fan from your monthly energy bill and cools your attic by harnessing the energy of the sun. Solar attic fans can reduce your cooling bills by up to 30 percent as it’ll be much easier to maintain a cool attic with a properly installed solar attic fan. Attics must be properly ventilated to prevent any sort of damage, so be sure to find someone who can properly replace your current attic fan with a solar attic fan when you decide to make the switch.
2. Buy Better Light Bulbs
We all use electric lighting in our day to day life. This is something you cannot avoid completely, not at least as of now. But switching to a more energy efficient light bulb is one of the most basic steps you can take to seeing huge reductions in your energy bill. It is reported that if all Americans substituted one light bulb in their home with an ENERGY STAR certified light bulb, the United States would save approximately $600 million in annual energy costs, and it would be sufficient energy to light almost 3 million homes for one complete year! Using of ENERGY STAR certified light bulbs also provides a myriad of other benefits, like lower home cooling costs since these bulbs radiate less heat. These bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than that used by traditional light bulbs, while also lasting on average about six times longer. Just one of these bulbs can save more than $40 in energy costs over its lifetime, so imagine how much money you can save by replacing all of your light bulbs with ENERGY STAR certified bulbs. The answer is a lot!
3. Use Fans Over Air Conditioners
When it starts to get hot out, the desire to run your air conditioning unit non-stop can be high. If you can avoid running you’re ac unit and instead opt for fans, you’ll save a ton of energy. Air conditioning units require lots of energy because they cool your entire home. If you can, use fans in the room you’re in and when you switch rooms bring them with you. While some hot summer days pretty much require air conditioning, if you are able to use it more sparingly you’ll see your energy bill start dropping.
4. Use Power Strips on Your Standby Electronics
You’d be surprised by just how much power is used by electronics that are plugged in, yet not even in use. Printers, computers, televisions, and game consoles all eat up costly power even when you aren’t using them. These devices account for as much as ten percent of your home’s energy use, so being able to turn them off when not in use will save you lots of money on your energy bill. Buy power strips that allow you to turn them all off at once, and make sure you do. You’ll see your energy use start dropping instantly.
