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20 Ways to Save on Energy Bill and Save Electricity

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20 Ways to Save on Energy Bill and Save Electricity

How to Lower Your Electric Bill

Even after you’ve replaced your old AC unit with a new, high-efficiency air conditioner, there are still many ways to save energy in your Bradenton, Clearwater, St Petersburg or Tampa home. Performance wants to help by sharing these helpful energy conservation techniques. Saving energy reduces our nation’s overall demand for energy-making resources. Increasing your energy efficiency is like adding another clean energy source to our electric power grid.

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This guide shows you how to save electricity and energy at home and on the road. These easy solutions are good for your wallet, for the environment and they improve our nation’s energy security!

An energy-efficient home will keep your family comfortable while saving you money. Whether you take simple steps or make larger investments, you’ll see lower energy bills. Over time, those savings will pay for the cost of improvements and put money back in your pocket. Your home may also be more attractive to buyers when you sell.

The 113 million residences in America today use approximately 22 percent of the country’s energy. Unfortunately, a lot of energy gets wasted through leaky windows, ducts, old appliances, or inefficient air conditioning systems. When we waste energy in our homes, we are wasting electricity and throwing away money! The typical U.S. family spends at least $2,000 a year on home utility bills. You can lower this amount by up to 25 percent by following this guide.

20 Ways to Lower Your Energy Bill

There are so many things to remember when you’re a homeowner. If you’re just starting out in your very first home, all these responsibilities can pile up and become overwhelming fast. Take a step back, breathe, and sit down to think about all the ways you can save money in your home. Here are some great ideas to save on energy:

1. Invest in a programmable thermostat

A programmable thermostat allows you to program the most efficient cooling settings for your home.

For example, you can set your thermostat to use less energy while you’re at work and kick it back up just before you get home. That way, you can still walk into a cool, refreshing house after coming in from the heat, but you won’t be wasting money all day long.

Many programmable thermostats are equipped with Wi-Fi capability, allowing you to control your home’s temperature remotely. Get off work early today? Just pull out your smartphone and instruct your programmable thermostat to crank up the AC now instead of at its regularly scheduled time.

2. Skip the dishwasher

Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher’s drying cycle. Putting plates and glasses on a rack can take just the same amount of time than putting them in the dishwasher, if not less!

3. Power down

Turn things off when you are not in the room such as lights, TVs, entertainment systems, and your computer and monitor.

Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use ‘ TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power.

4. Set the water temperature lower

Lowering the thermostat on your water heater to 120°F can save energy.

5. Take cooler, shorter showers

Take short showers instead of baths and use low-flow shower heads for additional energy savings.

6. Wash smarter

Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes. It can be tempting to wash dirty dishes and clothes often, but waiting until you have enough to do a full load is more efficient.

7. Air dry clothes

Dryers are convenient but use a lot of energy. Opt to air dry your clothes is possible ‘ especially in the summer. This way, your AC won’t have to compensate for the excess heat your dryer puts off.

8. Close windows and doors

Check to see that windows and doors are closed when heating or cooling your home. Running the AC when windows and doors are open wastes money.

9. Look for the ENERGY STAR label

On light bulbs, home appliances, electronics, and other products. ENERGY STAR products meet strict efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.

10. Fix up any gaps or cracks in your home’s doors and windows

If there are any holes in these areas of your home, you’re essentially wasting a ton of energy, which means you’re paying for nothing. Spend some time each month or so walking around your property and securing your windows and doors. Not only will securing these windows and doors save you some money, you will also be preventing any serious pest infestations from swarming your home, which could lead to a significant amount of damage.

Insulating your home properly can help lower your heating and cooling costs.

11. Perform AC repair

Many homes across the United States could benefit from regular maintenance and air conditioning repair, as only 42% of those using central air equipment contact AC repair services for maintenance annually. Though AC services like professional installation and maintenance are great for saving homeowners money, switching to high-efficiency AC units is another great way to save some cash. In fact, using energy efficient AC units can actually reduce the energy use for your home’s air conditioning by up to 50%.

12. Consider using fans throughout the year

Your AC units are an essential part of your home’s energy production and your family’s comfort, but don’t be afraid to let them rest for a little while. Using fans more often is a great way to save some money on your home’s energy expenses. You can, hypothetically, purchase a fan for every single room in your home (including the hallways) and you’ll always have a cool flow of air moving throughout your home. Additionally, ceiling fans can actually make the specific room feel up to seven degrees cooler. So you’ll be more comfortable and save plenty of cash.

13. Optimize Fan Placement

In addition to using fans, placement is important to keep the air circulating in an optimal manner.While fans do not cool the air, they create the feeling of coolness by circulating air over your skin. That means you may not need to set your thermostat as low to stay comfortable.

Strategic fan placement is also effective at removing heat from your home.

  • If you live in a two-story home, place fans on the upper levels and open windows on the bottom floor.
  • If you live in a single-story home, close windows near the fan and open those that are farther away.

When fans are working to remove warm air, your AC won’t have to use as much energy to cool your home.

14. Schedule Regular AC Maintenance

An efficient AC is a well-maintained AC. Over time, your air conditioner may start to lose its oomph. But that’s nothing a quality air conditioning professional can’t fix!

When a technician performs regular maintenance on your system, they ensure everything is running as efficiently as possible so you can get the most out of your air conditioner, while saving on energy. Additionally, regular maintenance allows a technician to catch minor issues before they spiral into costly AC emergencies.

15. Use Natural Light

Because of daylight savings, the days are naturally longer during the summer months. Pull the curtains aside and let in the natural light when you’re home. You will be able to conserve energy and dramatically cut down on your utility bill.

16. Turn Off Unused Lights

Sounds pretty basic but turning off lights after you exit a room is a simple but effective way to reduce electricity bills.

17. Replace Light Bulbs

Replacing standard, incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving light bulbs is also an effective way to save on your energy bill. LED lights are almost 80% more energy-efficient than incandescent light bulbs. In addition, LED bulbs can last for up to 25,000 hours, over 20 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Changing your light bulbs to LED lights is therefore a very effective energy conservation technique.

18. Replace Appliances

In a similar way, replacing certain appliances with more energy-efficient ones is a surefire way to save on energy costs. Think about it. 20 or 30 years ago, energy standards were much different from the ones we have today. For example, back then air conditioners had an average SEER rating (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) of 8 or less. In comparison, the minimum SEER rating in 2022 is 15.

19. Close Shades

Keep the shades drawn during the day when you’re not home. By doing this, you will not only prevent excess heat from entering your home but will also conserve energy.

Saving Energy Long Term

The key to these savings is to take a whole-house approach, and viewing your home as an energy system with interdependent parts. For example, your heating system is not just a furnace ‘ it’s a heat-delivery system that starts at the furnace and delivers heat throughout your home using a network of ducts.

Even a top-of-the-line, energy-efficient furnace will waste a lot of fuel if the ducts, walls, attic, windows, and doors are leaky or poorly insulated. Taking a whole-house approach to saving energy ensures that dollars you invest to save energy are spent wisely.

Some of the tips are simple to do. Others require more effort and investment, but promise big savings over the years. We encourage you
to look at our tips, and to implement them around your house in order to make our planet healthier and cleaner!

Contact Performance for AC Maintenance Service

Your air conditioning system requires a lot of energy to cool your home ‘ but by maintaining your air conditioning system, you can ensure it runs more efficiently, saving you money along the way. If you haven’t had your AC professional checked and tuned, contact us today for service.

At Performance, we believe everyone has the right to affordable home comfort. We know how to keep you and your family cool and comfortable without breaking the bank. Whether you’re looking to increase efficiency and convenience with a programmable thermostat or give your AC a boost with regular maintenance, we’ve got you covered.

Give us a call to learn how we can help you cut energy costs or to schedule an appointment today.

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