As energy costs continue rising to new heights. More people are looking for ways to reduce how much they spend on utilities.
Almost all devices in our homes use electricity and are essential for our daily lives to function. Making it difficult to figure out how to reduce energy usage.
Old advice, like “Turn off the lights in every room” doesn’t cut it anymore.
That’s why, in this article we explore practical ways to save energy at home that has real impact on your monthly utility bill, without sacrificing comfort.
Reduce Heat Loss (and Lower Your Heating Bill)
Most homes struggle to maintain comfortable temperatures without frequent use of a heating & cooling unit.
With a few adjustments you can create a pleasant home environment that doesn’t rely on a heating unit to do the heavy lifting, no matter if it’s summer or winter.
- Test Windows and Doors
Most heat loss happens through leaks around the windows that let’s cool air into the home. Poor window and door insulation makes the heating unit work harder than necessary to maintain a balanced temperature.
Spray low-expansion foam to cover up leaks around the windows, this ensures your heating unit’s effort won’t go to waste.
How to check it: If it’s cold outside, hover your hand around the window frames. You’ll feel a breeze of cold air on your hand where the leakage is.
Alternatively, you can light an incense stick and hold it around the window. You’ll quickly see by the direction of the incense, where the air is coming from.
To keep the temperature inside a specific room, you can use door heat blockers. Made from a durable foam material, they prevent the heat from leaving rooms and can reduce the need of putting your heating unit to work.
- Curtains retain heat or cold
Curtains can do more than keep your home private or block sunlight, certain curtain types will improve energy efficiency in your home.
Thermal curtains have thick fabric that creates an insulating layer, that keeps warm air inside during winter and blocks heat out during summer. Reducing how often you have to rely on heating or cooling to stay comfortable when seasons change.
- Place rugs on hard floors
Rugs can also make a big impact on how comfortable you feel at home, making you less likely to turn on your heating unit.
During summer the breathable material absorbs moisture in the air reducing the humidity inside. While during winter the insulating qualities of a good rug helps your home stay warm by preventing the heat from easily escaping.
Hardwood, tile or stone floors are especially known to pull heat away. Rugs can make a noticeable difference in creating a pleasant temperature inside.
Eliminate Energy Waste from Devices
These days almost all devices in our homes run on electricity, and that’s not changing anytime soon. In this section you’ll find ways to keep the devices in your household active, with less wasted energy.
- Switch to LED
One of the fastest ways to make your home more energy efficient, and save a pretty penny on your electricity bill is swapping your lightbulbs to LEDs.
Without sacrificing quality of lighting, LEDs use 75-90% less energy than other lighting options, such as fluorescent or incandescent light. Other than that, the average lightbulb lasts around 1,000 hours while LEDs last around 50,000 hours.
Making the switch to all LEDs drastically reduces overall energy usage, lowering your energy bill almost overnight. Plus, you’ll save money on buying fewer lightbulbs in the long run too.
- Fight phantom power consumption
When a TV, game console or electronic kitchenware is turned off and a glowing red dot appears, that’s phantom power consumption. Although the device is technically turned off it’s still drawing power, which means the device is silently running up your utility bill.
5-10% of the average household’s energy usage happens through phantom power consumption. You can save a chunk of change by limiting these devices. It’s surprisingly easy to reduce – by purchasing a smart power strip.
The on/off button on smart power strips gives you full control over the connected devices. When you press the off-button, all connected devices can’t draw anymore power.
You can also unplug other devices that show the red dot. Keep in mind, not all devices that draw power while being turned off show a “red dot”, such as phone & laptop chargers, printers, scanners, kitchen toasters or simple coffee makers.
- Automate Heating with Smart Thermostats
Smart thermostats control and automate heating in the home.
They can be programmed to lower the temperature when heating needs aren’t as high, such as when you’re asleep, at work, or away from home.
Instead of heating an empty house at full power, a smart thermostat helps adjust energy usage, improving energy efficiency and lowering unnecessary consumption over time.
Through energy insights, smart thermostats track heating usage and costs over time. That can help you better understand your consumption and ways to save more energy & money going forward.
Save Energy Through Your Water Bill
Most households use a lot of energy to warm up water. But with a few simple changes it’s possible to save more energy, and even use less water – without feeling like you’re giving up on your lifestyle.
- Laundry with Cold water
Washing clothes with cold water is a simple way to reduce energy use in the household.
Hot washes also use a lot of energy because the water is kept at high temperatures through the whole washing cycle.
Many use the hot wash options on their washing machine, believing the clothes come out cleaner. And while that was true many years ago, these days many modern detergent formulas work just as effectively in cold water.
Hot-water options are great if you need stains dissolved during the wash. Otherwise, it’s safe to choose cold-water options, saving significant energy doing your laundry and still enjoying clean clothes.
Another way to save more energy while washing clothes is by choosing the highest possible fast-spin option. This removes the most amount of water, before the clothes hit the dryer, leading to more saved energy.
- Save Energy on Water Heating
Insulate your water heater, as it reduces how much energy is needed to heat up your water and lowers standby heat loss, even if your water tank is older.
Most heat loss in a tank is lost through standby heat loss, that’s when the water heater is no longer active and warm water is sitting idle in the tank. It’s estimated that almost half of all water that’s been heated up, is lost in this way.
When you insulate the tank you create a barrier, trapping the heat which causes the tank to run less often in order to have warm water ready when you need it.
- Change Shower Head
Replacing your showerhead with a low-pressure showerhead is a clever way to reduce energy & water consumption.
Low-pressure showerheads provide a steady stream of water while using less pressure. Because you’ll use less water per shower, your water heater won’t be heating up as much water as it normally would if you used a regular showerhead – giving you bigger savings on your water and energy bill.
They’re proven to save thousands of litres of water every year. The more people live in the household, the bigger savings you’re likely to see at the end of the month.
For even bigger savings, change all the water fixtures in your home to low-pressure waterheads.
Maintain Appliances for Maximum Efficiency
Your appliances work hardest when they aren’t maintained. Small maintenance habits help them run efficiently, reduce wasted energy and extend their lifespan.
- Change HVAC filters
Change your HVAC filters every 3 months to get the most of your heating and cooling systems.
Clean filters give optimal airflow and efficiently reach the target temperature. Dirty filters not only make the entire system work harder, but also shortens the lifespan of the heating & cooling unit.
Regularly changing filters heat up and cool down rooms more evenly too. Which means more energy efficient use of the unit, since it isn’t necessary to keep the unit running for as long.
It might seem daunting to replace HVAC filters every 3 months, but it can be done quickly and inexpensively compared to the cost of a unit that doesn’t run efficiently or worse, breaks down and prematurely needs to be repaired.
- Maintain the Clothes Dryer
Clean the lint vent after each wash. Dirty lint vents restrict airflow, and cause longer run timers. Regularly cleaning the lint vent & lint screen makes the machine run smoother and keeps the energy use efficient.
Dryer vents are another area dryers tend to use energy unnecessarily. Over time debris builds up, forcing the machine to work harder than it needs to. A good rule of thumb for when it’s time to clean your dryer vent is when clothes take longer to dry or you notice a burning smell.
Lastly, inspect the seal and drum belt. It’s the thin rubber strip that runs around the circumference of the drum. To check it, to look for fraying, wear and tear or visible damage. Replacing worn seals keeps the heat inside the machine, cleaning your clothes without wasting energy unnecessarily.
- Make the Refrigerator
The refrigerator is active day and night, making sure it runs efficiently helps cut energy costs.
Condenser coils (in the bottom or back) tend to get soiled with dirt from kitchen fumes, dust (and pet hair, if you have pets). Making the coils work harder and use more energy to maintain temperature inside the fridge.
Cleaning them every 3-4 months makes sure they fire efficiently. Providing better cooling for your food making them fresher for a longer time, while lowering your 24/7 energy use.
Check door seals for wear and tear. Damaged seals let in warm air, causing the refrigerator to work harder and use more energy to keep it cool inside. If a seal is cracked or out of shape, it’s best to replace them.
- Make your Oven Energy Efficient
When you cook dishes in the oven, use the fan-assisted function. It allows you to turn down the temperature by 20-30 degrees and still cook the dish thoroughly. That helps you save how much energy you’re using since the oven doesn’t need to heat up to an as high temperature. The fan-assisted option is also great for adding multiple trays in the oven at the time, saving even more energy – and time!
While the fan-assisted function is a smart way to save energy while cooking, it’s important to clean your oven regularly to make sure it runs efficiently. Build-up from previous cooked dishes can block the heat coming from the oven causing it to heat unevenly.
Another clever way to reduce energy use when you’re cooking or using the stove, is to switch off the heat 5-10 minutes before you’re done. This uses the residual heat and provides enough heat to cook any dish properly to the end, while using less energy.
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