Winter is finally behind us. Now it’s all about warmer weather, greener trees, lighter clothes, and longer days. It also means making changes to your home’s energy use, which could affect your energy bills.
We’re here to help you save money so we’d like to share some tips in how you can lower your bills and conserve energy at home.
Get an A/C tune-up
If you have central air conditioning, getting a professional tune-up helps ensure it runs efficiently all season long, prevent minor problems from becoming costlier breakdowns down the road, and improve your overall indoor comfort.
For window a/c units, clean or replace filters, clean the coils, and straighten the fins at least once a year.
Get smart about your thermostat
Forty-five percent of the energy in your home goes to heating and cooling. A lot of it is going to unused spaces especially when your home is unoccupied. Programmable smart thermostats can help cut some of those costs. They allow you to set the temperature when you’re away and even schedule when it can be turned on and off during certain points of the day. Using ceiling fans can also help you save.
Inspect your insulation
Good insulation helps keep warm air in during the winter months and cold air in during the summer months. This creates less work for your heating and A/C units. Attics, ceiling, air ducts, and basements should be fully insulated and inspected every year, or after any major home repairs or remodeling projects.
Plant trees
Planting trees around your home can provide shade during the summer. When the leaves fall during the winter, the sun will provide warmth to your outdoor space and home. This will allow you to cut your air conditioning costs by 35%. Plus, adding a tree is great for the environment.
Turn off lights and electronics when you aren’t using them
It happens to everyone; people often forget to turn off lights and electronics when they aren’t using them. It’s human nature to forget things from time to time, but you can limit this behavior by changing your habits that will lead you to save a lot of energy, and therefore, money. To help conserve energy with minimal effort, you can do things like turning off your television after a certain hour, putting your laptop on sleep mode, hibernation, or turn it off completely, and turn off the lights whenever you leave a room.
Replace traditional light bulbs with LEDs
LED bulbs are a little more expensive than traditional light bulbs, but they are up to 80% more energy efficient. Additionally, they have a longer lifetime and generate a lot less heat. Walk around your home to see what lights will need replacements so you can start saving money.
Use less hot water
You may not know this but using hot water has a big impact of your energy bills. You can save money by reducing how often you bathe. You can also check if your hot water tank is well insulated as this can make an impact as well.
Use commuter benefits
If your company offers a commuter benefits program, you can choose how you commute to the office. You can use pre-tax money, up to the current IRS tax limit of $280/month, towards transit and parking expenses. There are also use shared mobility options such as bikes, bike shops, scooters, moped, and more if you want to use a greener and more innovative option.
If you want to learn more on how you can save money for a happier, healthier life, schedule a meeting with us today so we can help you find the options for you and your employees.
