Did you know that costs for electric, natural gas, water, and sewer add 25% to monthly housing expenses? That’s a lot of money, and the truth is you don’t have to pay so much.
You can take steps to reduce your utility bills by improving your energy savings in a variety of ways. The more energy you can save, the more you’ll keep your heat and cooling inside your own home (and pay less as a result)!
Here are some tips to reduce your utility costs at home.
Install a Programmable Thermostat
Keeping your home comfortable can be a challenge if you manually adjust your temperature. How you set your thermostat can vary depending on how hot or cold it is outside, whether you’re sleeping, spending time at home, or at work, and many other factors.
With everything going on in our lives, we usually don’t remember to manage the thermostat as closely as we might wish we did. As a result, we overpay for our comfort and sometimes we’re not actually comfortable (like if we forget to turn the temp down at bedtime)!
Skip the trouble and make it easy to gain energy savings by using a programmable thermostat. You can set it up with the temperatures you want at the times you’re home, away, and asleep. You’ll save a lot of money and stay comfortable 24 hours a day.
Lower the Water Heater Temperature
Most traditional water heaters hold a significant amount of water and keep it heated to a specific temperature. As you might expect, that costs a lot of money! You can get significant energy savings by reducing the temperature of the water being held.
Just lowering the temperature a few degrees can save you a lot of cash. You might even consider turning the water heater completely off when you go on vacation or are away from home a few days or more.
Insulate the Attic & Walls
Of course, one of the best ways to improve your energy savings is by insulating your home. The biggest bang for your buck will come from insulating the attic really well. Not only will you reduce the amount of air coming in and out of the house, but you can also keep out pests and improve air quality as well.
Insulating the walls also makes a big difference in your utility costs. The good news is that you can often blow additional insulation into your walls without major construction.
Just improving your insulation can save you 10% on energy costs.
Lower Utility Costs at Home Today
As you can see, the steps you can take to improve energy savings don’t have to be drastic. You don’t have to completely renovate your home or tear down and redo everything. By simply investing in a few simple changes, you can save significantly on your utility bills.
If you’re interested in reviewing and improving your insulation, we’d love to help. We have over 30 years of experience helping Little Rock families improve the comfort and affordability of their homes. Contact us for more information today!
