We’ve got the low down on five of the best energy saving tips to provide the most return to you, with the least amount of time, effort and expense. These quick and easy tips provide big returns in energy bill savings, without requiring you to make any sacrifices to your current way of living. Right now, you’re probably wasting energy and it’s costing you real money every month. Don’t waste another moment, let’s get to the energy saving tips…
Kill the Creep
Saving money on energy is easy…when you know how!
You know all those fancy modern gadgets that simplify our lives and entertain us – well, they’re all silent energy “creeps”(also known as Vampires, Standby or Phantom power). Every electric device, that is not fully powered off or that has a standby mode(most), is constantly draining a small amount of energy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Significant energy is wasted over the life of these devices, despite the fact that you may not even be using them most of the time. Easily eliminate this constant energy drain by connecting energy strips to all of your electronic appliances/devices. When you’re not using them, simply switch off the main power on the energy strip. This prevents those devices from draining energy while you’re sleeping, out of the house, or just not using them.
Go Compact
Trading in the Hummer for a smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicle would be a good idea. But we’re not talking about compact cars, we’re talking light bulbs! That heat(think Easy-Bake oven) you feel coming off standard incandescent light bulbs, represents a bunch of energy being wasted. You can simply replace all of your bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light(CFL) bulbs or slowly replace them as the old incandescent bulbs burn out. Each CFL can save you approximately $30 over its lifetime. In large homes this can represent huge savings, since they can have 100 bulbs or more.
Most homes have more holes than Swiss cheese!
Plug your Holes
Many older homes have more “holes” than Swiss cheese. As new homes settle and become used by their owners, they develop the same cracks and leaks that effect the overall efficiency of the structure. Using insulating foam, insulation tape and caulk to plug these holes can provide an easy fix to help maintain cool conditions in the summer and keep you warm in the winter. Look for these leaks around wall outlets, light fixtures, pipe fittings, and especially around doors and windows.
That’s hot!
In an effort to save energy and prevent your most delicate parts from being scalded during your morning shower, do yourself a favor and turn down the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120 degrees. The average hot water heater can consume up to 25% of a home’s energy use. It takes a constant amount of energy to keep that water hot, and on standby in its tank, for the precise moment when you need and expect hot water to flow from your faucet. Turning down the thermostat to 120 degrees will provide you with the appropriate temperature for all of your hot water needs and reduces the significant energy use required to maintain excessively hot water temperatures in the tank.
Not too hot! This guy likes his showers, just right.
Wrap it up
In the previous tip, we mentioned that hot water heaters represent a huge part of the average home’s energy consumption. To make matters worse, an inefficient hot water heater tank could be adding 5% or more to your annual energy bills. Hot water heaters that are not insulated could be inadequately heating the precious hot water that we all expect to automatically flow, when starting each day with a refreshing shower. Here’w why…your hot water heater is constantly maintaining the temperature of the water in its tank. Every minute you’re not using it, the system is monitoring the temperature to make sure that it’s maintained at a constant level. An inefficient tank that is losing heat is forced to use energy to bring water to its appropriate temperature throughout the entire day, even when you’re not home. By using a Water Heater Tank Wrap, you save energy by helping the system to maintain a constant temperature and avoid heat loss. When choosing the appropriate wrap for your tank, make sure that you have the correct cover for your specific water heater model and do not cover the thermostat.
Sure, there are other ways to save energy, but these are the Top 5 Quick and Easy Energy Saving tips for maximum return to you. They’re quick, inexpensive, and anyone can do them. Compare your previous energy bills, after completing these tips. You’ll be amazed at how easy they were to do and pleased with your real monthly energy bill savings.
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