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Ways to Lower Energy Consumption in Your Home
- Lower your thermostat in the winter and raise it in the summer. Get a programmable thermostat. A 5° higher setting on your air conditioning thermostat will save about 10% on cooling costs. Save up to 1% on your heating bill for every degree you turn down the thermostat.
- Change your furnace filter. Dirty filters impede air flow making furnaces work harder
- Let the sun heat your home. Open drapes on south-facing windows during the day. Close drapes at night for added insulation
- Stop heat loss . Close curtains at night and on windows that don't get sun.
- Insulate ceilings to R-30 standards if your attic has less than R-19
- Take shorter showers and refrain from baths
- Unplug phone chargers and other and other electronics when not in use
- Turn your water heater down to 120° or the "Normal" setting when home, and to the lowest setting when away. Water heating accounts for about 13% of home energy costs
- Keep your dryer free from lint. Lint causes dryers to take longer to dry.
- Use LED lighting. LED lights are 300% more energy efficient than fluorescent lights and about 1000% more efficient than incandescent lights. And LED lights last over 50,000 hours. A 5 watt LED is equivalent to a 60 watt incandescent
- Plant deciduous trees on the south side of your home. In the summer they will block the heat from the sun but in the winter the heat will be able to get through.
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