Back to School Savings! (At Home)

It’s that time again, the kids are heading back to school and your home will be empty during the day. Just like the back to school savings you took advantage of at the store, you can also take advantage of savings in your home.

Follow these tips to start your back to school savings:

Have a home energy audit done. A home energy audit consists of a home examination to check where energy is being lost.

Have your HVAC system checked. The average home’s central heating and cooling system runs around 2,000 hours per year. That’s the equivalent of driving your car 65 miles per hour for 130,000 miles, non-stop! You can’t run your car, and shouldn’t run your air conditioner that long without maintenance.

Your heating and cooling system becomes less efficient and reliable as it accumulates dust and dirt throughout the year, which costs you money in increased heating, cooling, and repair bills.

Increase your thermostat by a couple of degrees. There’s no sense in keeping your home at your ideal comfort temperature if nobody will be there to enjoy it. During the hours you and your family are gone, lower your thermostat to start cooling about half an hour before you and your family gets home. This will help you save between 4-8% on your cooling costs with every degree you increase the temperature by. When it’s time to turn on the heat just reverse the process.

Unplug devices that aren’t being used. These plugged in devices can be 5-10% of your energy bill.

Get rid of incandescent light bulbs. These light bulbs are energy wasters.

Use Energy Star rated appliances. Energy Star rated appliances aren’t power suckers like older non-Energy Star rated appliances can be. According to the U.S. Department of energy, Energy Star appliances can reduce your home appliance energy usage and costs by as much as 10-50%.

Shut those blinds when it’s warm. Shutting your blinds can help cut down the cost of your energy bill. Keeping blinds shut while temperatures are warm can cut down how hard your air conditioner has to work by 30%. When temperatures are colder, do the opposite, keep blinds open to bring warm sunlight into your home.

For more energy saving tips visit our blogs or reach out to us directly!