High Energy costs make utility bills like the electricity, gas, and water bill skyrocket. When it comes to your electricity bill, Smarter here are some informational things you should know to keep your energy costs lower. Let’s take a look on what the average homes energy costs look like:
Heating: 31%
Air Conditioning/Cooling: 12%
Water Heating: 12%
Lighting: 11%
Computers and Electronics: 9%
Dishwashers and Laundry Equipment: 9%
Refrigeration: 8%
Other: 8%
If heating and cooling costs can amount up to 43% of your electricity bill why not take a few simple steps and reduce these costs. Here are a few suggestions which will help you reduce these costs.
Programmable Thermostats:
These thermostats let you program your home’s internal temperature when you are not at home or when you are. By programming it for up to a week you can even have separate temperatures for the weekends. They end up saving you about 35% of your heating and cooling cost.
· Natural Gas Heating: Switching from electric heating to natural gas can be pretty costly but if you are buying a new home then opt for natural gas heating as it will cost you way less than electric heating. Also heating up a single room is more energy efficient then the entire home.
Water heating can get pretty costly so keeping your heating temperature down at 120 degrees can help you save substantially and if you have an Energy Star dishwasher it won’t be affected as they have an energy booster option which can increase the temperature by 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
Lighting: If you are still using the energy:
Guzzling incandescent light bulbs you need to switch to the CFLs or LED light bulbs as they are a onetime investment but last 5 to 10 times longer and can save you about 90% on your lighting bill.
Computer, electronics, dishwasher and laundry equipment are all available with Energy Star logo which means it saves you money and produces way less gas emissions and consumes less power. A laptop consumes way less power than a desktop so making a better choice will help you in your bill.
Refrigerators are the biggest energy hogs so using them wisely help such as buying Energy Star refrigerators and not excessively opening the door also helps..........................................................................
These energy saving tips keep extra money in your wallet especially when you have a low electricity rate to go along with it. Compare and shop electricity providers today and use your power to choose.
