Here’re some tips & tricks for you to save energy this winter

Tips to save energy this winter

Winter is here, and it’s high time we think about our environment and save energy. Taking a tour of your home will be a good start to find out the areas where you can save the most and cut down on your bills. This article will help you find different ways to save energy consumption and few dollars in a month. Usually, maximum household expenditure happens on energy bills. In this fast paced life, we tend to ignore our surroundings and forget that we can use natural resources to save money. How great will it be if you could save hundreds and thousands of dollars by just following a few tricks? Sounds great. Isn’t it!

Don’t worry, we are here to help you. Some of the tips mentioned here are free and realistic to implement in your home without putting much effort.

Adjust room temperature

Get a programmable thermostat for your house and set the temperature at 70 F. You will be able to save 3 percent of energy for every degree below this. Above 70 F, every degree consumes a lot of energy and can jeer a big hole in your electricity bill. When you are in your room and awake, set the temperature as low as possible, and you can save up to 10 percent of total energy every year. Isn’t it great! A programmable thermostat will help you adjusting the temperature automatically in other parts of your house whenever you are not there.

Use drapes for windows

Use drapes to enhance the appeal of your home and give it a captivating look. Make sure to use heavy dark colored curtains in the windows so as to absorb the maximum heat from the sun. Heavy drapes will help you in maintaining the room temperature and compared to other areas of your home, and your room will be warmer.
You can also go for other options available. Like, combining drapes with cellular shading or roman shades. This combination provides the highest thermal and sound insulation. Here is the list from lowest to highest for you, to help choose from the combinations available in the market.

– Drapes with liners

– Roman shades with liner

– Cellular shades

– Cellular shades with side channel have the highest sound and thermal insulation.

Duck heat loss

To avoid heat loss from the windows, you can also use shades which act as an insulator and reduces heat loss of any form. This trick can also help in maintaining the temperature once programmed on your thermostat. For example, light filtering shades trap a significant amount of air and helps in protecting your indoor and outdoor heat loss. These can also be used as noise absorbents and if you are working on night shift, these shades are for you.
Find here about the different kinds of shades. (Hyperlink to the product page)

Seal the leaks

Inspect each room and corner of your house and attic properly to find the source of the leaks. Any holes, wire-fittings or leaks in the corners can add to your expenses and get huge energy bills. A typical house with a forced heater loses around 25 percent of heat energy due to holes, ducts and leaks in the corners. You can use tape or a good quality sealant to avoid the heat loss by sealing the leaks.

Use natural heat from Sun

We all know for a fact that Sun is the source of our energy. Use south facing windows in your home to allow the direct sunlight to enter and warm your rooms. Do not forget to close the windows at night to avoid the chilled air to come in your room. This tip can help you save up to 10 percent of the energy.
Here important point to remember is, not to use any heating device or insulator. Using a thermostat during this time will drain more energy to maintain the adjusted room temperature and will add up to your monthly expense.

Shrink your water heating cost

Adjust the temperature of your water heater to warm temperature which is 120 F. By doing this you can save 20 percent of the energy consumed in your home. Keeping the settings above or below this temperature causes the use of more electricity in heating the water. This way you can also prevent searing of your hands.

Upgrade your heating systems

Use of any heating system over the years reduces its efficiency, and it tends to absorb more energy than required to give the desirable result. Frequently maintaining and servicing of these heating systems is needed for their proper functioning and reduction in the energy bill. A new heater will perform better than an old one. Even if you are keen on using the old one, make sure to get servicing on a regular basis. Best would be to schedule this servicing in advance at a frequent interval.

Other ways to save energy in your home can include – keeping your refrigerator full of items and remove empty trays and bottles (helps in reducing the amount of energy used to cool the space, thus use of more electricity), use LED’s wherever possible in your house and save huge amount on your electricity bill, and many more.
There are many good products available in market today to choose from different options. Use your money smartly and efficiently while purchasing cooking appliances or any other electrical item. Use natural gas or propane gas furnaces which are more efficient. Also, now energy monitoring thermostats are available which monitor all appliances’ energy consumption. By using this thermostat, you can save huge on energy bills.

If you are willing to reduce your monthly expenses, do the audit of your home and use the tips mentioned above to save energy this winter. All the best!