Sunday, October 18, 2009

Six Ways to Save Big on Your Energy Bill


By Ed Eddmanson

People often overlook simple maintenance that could save money on your energy bill. Keeping up with regular maintenance could save as much as 5% on your energy bill. In many homes that could save thousands of dollars a year.

Reducing the cost to heat your house is the fastest way to save money on your energy. Drafts are one form of extreme heat loss. A quick breeze flowing through your house can reverse hours of heating efforts. Checking all of your windows and doors to make sure they close properly can often stop these breezes. You can take this a step further, by weatherproofing your house in the winter. Over the course of a year, stopping drafts an average size home can save several hundred dollars a year.

After heating, cooling your house is the next biggest energy cost. Most people think you can only save money on cooling by replacing your A/C unit. However, there are other ways to reduce your cooling energy bill. Most people use less than 80% of the livable area in their home. This means that one or more rooms in your house go unused for days or even weeks at a time. You can save a great deal of energy today by simply closing off the vents and doors in these unused rooms.

Water heaters are third in line when it comes to your energy bill. Reducing the amount of hot water you use, will save money on your energy bill. There are several ways to use less water. For instance, taking a shower instead of a bath will cut back significantly. You could also install a low cost flow restrictor. This will use quite a bit less water.

Dishwashers consume a lot of energy. You can reduce the energy and save money on your energy bill by simply cleaning the drain on your dishwasher. A motor is used to turn the water sprayer and drain water both of which use a lot of energy. Cleaning the drain in the dishwasher help it will remove waste water more efficiently. It will also get dishes cleaner.

Surprisingly, cooking uses a lot of energy. It is number 5 on the list of energy consumers. There is really no cost effective way to stop cooking, but you can save money on your energy bill by maintaining your stove. Food on the stove top or reflectors reduces the amount of heat going to your pot or skillet. Clearing away any burnt on food will reduce the cost of cooking and the time it takes to prepare dinner.

Light bulbs cost a lot of money and rack up your energy bill. Not everyone wants to switch to compact fluorescent bulbs. Contrary to popular news, you can save money and still use traditional light bulbs. Simply turning off lights you are not using can save as much as a switch to flourescents. You can save even more, if you install dimmer switches. These switches will let you change the amount of light you use for different tasks.

Changing a few habits can save money on your energy bill. Everyone has habits that use more energy than you might need. If you walk around the average house, you will find a light, TV, phone charger or something else that is not being used, but continues to slowly waste energy. Some of these habits are difficult to change, but the ones listed can be easy to change. Each one of these helpful tips can save money on your energy bill.

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