When you take
a look around your home, there are probably some easy changes you can make to
reduce your monthly energy usage, which will in turn reduce your monthly bills.
Who doesn’t want to save some money each month? Here are our top 5
tips:
Tip 1 – Use LED Lamps. Yes they do cost a little more than
traditional bulbs, but the savings add up very quickly. The light output
(measured in Lumens) of a 9 watt LED bulb is equivalent to a 60 watt incandescent
lamp. That is 51 watts less in energy usage. Now lets assume you replace a main
light in your home – one that might be on for 5 hours per day. That is a
savings of 255 watts per day for just one light. Times that by 365 days and you
get 93 kilowatt-hours. At an average of $.12 per kilowatt-hour that is a
savings of $11.16 per year for one light bulb. ENERGY STAR®
Certified LED light bulbs also last 5 to 10 times longer than incandescent
bulbs.
Tip 2 – Adjust Your Thermostat. Turning your thermostat down 2 degrees
in the winter or up two degrees in the summer can make a large impact. While
this is a little harder to calculate than changing a light bulb to an LED, the
savings can be significant and add up over the course of the year.
Tip 3 – Use a Programmable Thermostat.
Very similar to adjusting your thermostat is to
install a programmable thermostat. The benefit of a programmable thermostat is
that it will reduce your energy usage when you are not home. Even the most
basic programmable thermostat will help you save by adjusting the temperature
of your home up or down depending on if the home is occupied or not.
Tip 4 – Buy ENERGY STAR Certified Products. Look for the ENERGY STAR logo when
you buy products such as TV’s, Appliances, Heating and cooling
systems and of course Bathroom Fans and Range Hoods. Now we are not saying you
need to throw out all your household items and immediately buy new ones, but as
the time comes to replace that old fridge, TV, etc. look at the benefits of
ENERGY STAR certified products and compare the cost savings.
Tip 5 – Eliminate Vampire Power. Most people don’t
realize that many of the appliances and electronics in your home use standby
power. The biggest users are devices like TVs, printers, microwave ovens and
computers. Although the energy usage is small, when you add it up it can be
significant. Using a power strip that can easily turn the power on or off to
these devises is one way to avoid unwanted power usage.
To learn more
about how you can save energy visit www.airkinglimited.com/page/climate-change.html
or www.energystar.gov/campaign/home?s=mega
to asses your home’s energy usage.
