The seasons change and yet, your energy bill always seems to be annoyingly high. You’ve probably tried to usual solutions: yelling at the kids, going without, limiting your time using your home’s appliances, and nothing seems to work. Don’t fret! A lot of times, it’s not directly your fault. It could be your home at fault. Older homes are a lot more susceptible to higher electric bills due to their outdates plumbing, wiring, insulation, floor plan, etc. For example, here in New Orleans, older houses have open floor plans to let breeze roll through during the summer months. In the (relatively mild) winter, they made up for that by starting the furnace. For us modern families, however, we don’t have furnaces – we have expensive heaters. If you’re living in an older house, or just want to lower your bill, check out Alek Air for all your heating and cooling needs. Here are a few suggestions that you may want to implement that won’t make you go without and even offer you a chance to enjoy your home more. That’s what it is for, right?
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1) Keep It Going
In the summer months, you probably think that it is better to turn off your air conditioner while at work or away for the day. While your intentions are good, your reasoning is off. Instead, use the energy saver option for your air conditioner while away from the home and keep it on. It may seem wasteful but when you turn off your air conditioner, your home heats up again. Then when you return home and turn it back on, it must work twice as hard to get the house cool again. However, if you go on vacation, turn it off. That’s just a waste.
2) Insulation
The cracks and crevices are where you money is leaking from so you need to do something to fill them in. If your door is too short for the frame, precious cool or heated air could be getting out. You likely heard your mother say once or twice “Close the door! I’m heating the whole neighborhood.” Get your drafty windows and doors properly insulated and see the difference in your home and on your electricity bill. Check out attic, which is where a lot of heat is lost in the winter or where a lot of heat gets in through the summer. Proper attic insulation is key to keeping a temperate home on the cheap side. If you’re doing any remodeling, also check and/or update the insulation in your walls. More insulation never hurt anybody!
3) Shading
Shading is a great and easy way for you to keep your home at the ideal temperature. Try using heavier drapes so that the sun doesn’t warm your house up too much. You can also use things like quick growing bushes or other kinds of shrubbery to cover the windows. As for the winter months, try lighter drapes or a fireplace to help keep your home nice and toasty.
4) Ceiling and Window Fans
Instead of keeping your air conditioning on all summer, you could try installing some ceiling or window fans. This will help to circulate the air in a specific room rather than cooling an entire home. For example, if you have ceiling fans in most rooms, you won’t need to air condition the never used basement. So keep it off and keep that money in your pocket.
5) Shut Off Certain Appliances
In the summer months, be sure to cut off the electricity to the fireplace and heaters so you won’t be spending money where it doesn’t need to be spent. Think of your home as a grid and every outlet and appliances as a piece of that grid, block off what doesn’t need to be used and make what is used commonly used, more efficient.
Make sure to keep an eye on your bill to see what’s working, what’s not, and what’s being wasted. This won’t save you a ton of money immediately, but it’ll surely build up over time.
This post was written by M.G. Bachemin in association with Brahman Systems.
