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How to Celebrate National Cut Your Energy Costs Day
Posted On: January 9, 2019
It’s National Cut Your Energy Costs Day! To help you enjoy the day and all the festivities, we’ve compiled some of the best ways to celebrate. Enjoy!
Your Home:
- At home, be sure to clean your heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) unit every 30 days to keep it running efficiently. If the filters are dirty or clogged, it will take more energy to push air through – using more energy will then cost YOU more money.
- Keeping your home’s blinds open in the winter and closed in the summer can also reduce the amount of energy your HVAC system has to use.
- Check your home for drafts. Heat and air can escape through the smallest leaks; you’re going to want to seal up the edges of your home so that it’s as close to airtight as possible. Weather stripping around doors and windows, as well as caulk around the outside, will go a long way to cutting your energy costs
- An easy way to check for air leaks – Just close a door or window on a dollar bill. If you can pull the dollar bill out without it dragging, you’re losing energy.
- During the winter, reverse your ceiling fans. No seriously, that’s it. By having your ceiling fans spin in the opposite direction, they’ll force the rising warm air downward to the part of the room you live in.
- Don’t forget about those energy vampires you have around your home. It’s truly scary how much things like your phone charger, computer and coffeemaker, can cost you. The energy department estimates they cost the average household $100 a year. You should always unplug them when they’re not in use. To make things easier, bundle your gadgets onto power strips, and shut them all off when you’re not using them. That will easily save up a pretty penny over time.
- Pro Tip : There are smart power strips that can automatically cut power to devices that are in sleep or standby mode.
Appliances:
- When it comes to your home, if you can, consider purchasing energy-star appliances like refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers. They are designed to save energy and can save you a lot of money annually.
- What you cook WITH can actually make a difference in how much energy you use. High-quality, conductive cookware not only pays off in your food preparation, but also on your energy bill. Glass or ceramic pans in the oven and pans with copper bottoms on the stovetop use up to 25 percent less heat.
- Simply cover your pans when you cook. Covered pans trap heat, causing your food to cook quicker. Not only do you spend less time cooking, but quicker cook time means using less energy.
- Parents who have younger children or teenagers know how much they love to poke around the refrigerator. This is actually costing you money. While the refrigerator door is open, heat enters and the fridge has to kick on the compressor again. Those costs can easily add up.
- Cover all liquids and wrap all foods inside your refrigerator. Uncovered foods and liquids can actually release moisture and make the compressor work harder – and this costs you money.
- Did you know that water heating can account for about 12 percent of a family’s utility bill? One super simple tip to save money is to lower the temperature on your water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. For every 10 degree reduction in temperature, you can save from 3 to 5 percent on your water heating costs.
- When washing your clothes, use cold water for most laundry loads and always use cold water for the rise cycle. The EPA estimates that switching to cold water can save the average household as much as $40 annually.