As a homeowner, you have to take care of all the maintenance and upgrades to your home and reserve a specific budget for any sudden problems that might occur in it. One of your significant concerns would be rising energy costs, which are primarily caused due to wasted energy. However, there is no reason to worry, as you can save energy with just a few simple steps.
Being energy-efficient means using less energy to complete your routine work, not avoiding doing the work you have to do. With that said, let’s have a look at some energy-efficient tips for homeowners.
Steps to Make Your Home Energy Efficient
Here are some energy efficiency tips that homeowners can apply to save up on their energy bills and prevent energy wastage.
Installing LED Bulbs
If you have traditional light bulbs in your home, you should know that they consume more electricity than modern LED bulbs. LEDs are much more energy-efficient and give out more light while consuming less power. For instance, a 10W LED bulb would give out better light than a 40W halogen light bulb.
Moreover, you can also cut down on spending excess energy by utilizing natural light as much as possible. In the daytime, you can keep your blinds and curtains open so that your whole house is well-lit and you don’t have to turn on the lights for the better part of the day. Moreover, make sure to turn the lights off whenever you leave the room, as this can help you save over 10% of electricity.
Along with installing LED bulbs and lowering your usage of artificial light, you can also use timed switches to ensure that all the lights in the house go off at sunrise so that you don’t waste any energy for even a second.
Optimizing your Thermostat
Some people think that lowering their thermostat will cool the house much faster, but there is more to it than simple heating and cooling. Not only do lower temperatures in the summer consume more electricity, but your air conditioning system has more load on it, causing it to lose its efficiency quickly. Ideally, it would be best to keep the thermostat any lower than 78F in the summers.
Similarly, in the winters, your thermostat should be set to 68F and not higher because it would only add to the load in your HVAC system and be counter-productive in the long run. If you would like to optimize your energy usage further, replace your traditional thermostat with a smart thermostat that adjusts the temperature according to your schedule and can go on energy-saving mode when it detects an empty house.
Using the Ceiling Fan
If you have ceiling fans in your home, turning them on will help you circulate the cool air around the house much faster than the air conditioning would. Ceiling fan circulation would allow you to increase the thermostat by a maximum of 5F, thus lowering your energy consumption and making a significant reduction in your bill.
Speaking of fans, if you have ventilation or exhaust fans in your kitchen or bathroom, make sure to turn them off when you are not using the rooms because they start to blow out the cold air from your house, causing it to become warmer.
Using Appliances Smartly
First and foremost, watch out where you place your heat-generating appliances, such as lamps, televisions, refrigerators, microwaves, etc. They shouldn’t be anywhere near the thermostat as the heat from the appliances would counteract its cooling.
Secondly, you should also think about using your appliances smartly to avoid any energy wastage. Make sure to defrost your refrigerator and freezer before the ice buildup interferes with its cooling ability. Also, set the refrigerator temperature according to the recommended level in the user guide, as it avoids freezing and wastage of energy.
If there is any dish that you can cook by using the microwave, don’t use your oven or stove for it, as these tend to increase the overall temperature of the house, causing the thermostat to work harder to cancel out their effects.
Moreover, scheduling dishwashing and laundry tasks at night does not affect the temperature inside the house and puts less strain on the power consumption, which is at its peak during the day. Instead of using the dryer, switch to air drying if you have the time.
Plus, if you are using your oven for cooking, opening it frequently to check on your food causes most of the energy to dissipate, and as a consequence, your range has to spend more energy in bringing up the heat again. You can also turn off the oven a few minutes before the cooking time is completed, as the range is warm enough to cook the food thoroughly. Timed usage allows you to prepare your meals and use less energy in the process.
Another way to conserve energy is to keep your electronics off until you need to use them. These include your computer, printer, scanner, or any other electronic device that you use. Moreover, don’t leave your phone on charge all night, as this is harmful to the phone and results in energy wastage.
Sealing Holes and Cracks
There may be holes and cracks in your roof, walls, windows, or doors that you may have neglected. The truth is that these can become inlets for warm outside air, thus raising the temperature inside your house and putting extra pressure on your thermostat. Therefore, make sure to seal all the holes and cracks in your home to avoid energy wastage.
Another energy-efficient measure that you can take is to replace all of the single-pane windows in your house with double or triple-pane glass, which prevents heat from seeping into your home. This way, your room temperature will go down by a few degrees, and you can increase your thermostat to save energy.
So that brings us to the end of our guide on energy efficiency tips for homeowners. All of these methods contribute a little towards saving energy and reducing energy wastage in your house. Plus, if you are looking for more energy-efficient solutions for your home, get in touch with ProTek Roofing, Heating & Air. We provide all sorts of home improvement services, such as insulation, sealing, and much more. We make sure that you don’t have to spend an extra cent on energy consumption, thus reducing your energy bills and making you a happy homeowner!