Heating, cooling, and electricity costs can drain your budget, especially if your home could be more energy efficient. As much as half of your home’s energy use is because of heating and cooling. Energy savings for your home translate to saving dollars. Need help finding energy savings? Here are three places to see them in your home.
Why make your home more energy efficient?
- Federal, state, utility, and local jurisdictions offer financial incentives for you to find energy savings in your home.
- It costs you less money to power an energy-efficient home.
- Your home will be more comfortable.
- The less energy you consume, the better it is for the environment.
- You find better ways to heat and cool your house.
Where to Find Energy Savings
- In your thermostat. When you turn down your thermostat when no one is home, you save about 2% of the heating bill for each degree you lower your thermostat for at least eight hours each day. For example, turning down the thermostat from 72° F to 67° F saves about 10% in heating expenses. A programmable thermostat saves money by turning down heating and cooling appliances at night or when the home is unoccupied.
- Look at your water heater. Demand-type water heaters (tankless or instantaneous) only provide hot water on demand. Rather than continually heating water for use and expending energy, tankless water heaters heat water when you need it. When you turn the hot water tap, cold water moves through a pipe into the water heater. Then a gas burner or an electric element heats the water.
- Insulate and weatherize your home. Insulating and weatherizing your home is one of the most cost-effective ways to make it more comfortable and energy efficient. Weatherization can seal any areas that may be leaking air, such as mail slots, areas around pipes and wires, attic hatches, fireplace dampers, door jambs, baseboards, window frames, switch plates, and wall- or window-mounted air conditioners.
For even more energy savings, ask our team about performing an audit of your home’s energy efficiency. Call us today.
