Top Energy Saving Tips to Reduce Bills and Carbon Footprint
For both homeowners and businesses, we frequently overlook our energy consumption. We often waste energy, and we forget to focus on reducing utility costs and improving efficiency. And thus, today – January 10th – National Cut Your Energy Costs Day.
National Cut Your Energy Costs Day is an observance meant as a friendly reminder for energy consumers to pay just a little more attention to how we are consuming energy. By now, we should all know that wasting energy is bad for the environment, our wallets, and fundamentally to each other. By bringing a little awareness of our consumption, and making a few simple changes, we can save money on energy bills and reduce our negative impact on the planet.
Today we are going to breakdown a few simple tips and tricks for homeowners to reduce energy consumption, therefore reduce energy bills and increasing efficiency.
Energy Saving Tips for Homeowners:
Cut down on water:
We often waste water without even realizing it. Consider taking simple measure to reduce waste:
- Turn off the water while you’re brushing your teeth or shaving.
- Take a shorter shower or put less water in your bath.
- Don’t rinse your dishes before they make it to the dishwasher – most modern dishwashers are powerful enough to handle the cleanup themselves. Turning off your “heat-dry” setting on your dishwasher can also save on energy costs.
- Put a plastic bottle in your water tank – put some pebbles in the water bottle and fill the remainder with water. Then place it safely in the water tank away from the operating mechanism. This can save you up to 5+ gallons of water a day!
- Rinse your produce in a bowl of water instead of letting the faucet run the whole time.
Cut down on electricity:
- Reduce or cut out phantom energy. Did you know that up to 75% of your energy use is derived from electronics that are turned off!? Your toasters, coffee makers, TVs, alarm clocks, computers, and more. Unplugging appliances when they’re not in use seems like a hassle right? Right. Consider purchasing a smart plug or smart power strip – these can be turned off when they’re not in use and you can even do it remotely or set timers.
- Use LED lighting – start replacing the incandescent light bulbs in your home starting with the most used rooms in your home.
- Leverage off-peak rates. For Ontarians, electricity prices are currently fixed due to COVID-19
- Turn off the lights! Maybe even consider switching some lights to dimmers.
Save on Energy Wasted While Doing Laundry
- Hang dry some of your clothes or linens; It’s better for their lifetime value anyway.
- Clean the lint filter – not only can lint build-up be a fired hazard but cleaning this every load will improve the air circulation in your dryer thus increasing efficiency.
- Use cold water; this will also help fabrics hold their colour and shape.
- Increase the spin speed for less delicate garments 0 this will reduce drying times.
- If it’s in the budget, consider upgrading your washer and dryer to more energy-efficient models – upfront costs may be pricey, but you will save money over time.
Weatherproof your home:
Using door draft stoppers, fixing leaks and cracks around floors and windows, replacing filters – there are so many simple measures you can use to help you weatherproof your home!
Did you know your windows can be one of the largest sources of energy loss in your home!? Home Depot offers a great guide that will teach you how to weatherproof windows in just one day.
Products to help reduce energy consumption:
There are so many products that can help a homeowner optimize energy efficiency and reduce bills. We already touched base on some of these – smart plugs, smart power strips, LED lighting, energy-efficient washing machines, and laundry machines – but there are so many more products available on the market.
- Energy-efficient appliances: smart thermostats, refrigerators, dishwashers, ceiling fans, heat pumps, dehumidifiers, air purifiers, televisions. The government of Canada offers a list of Energy Star certified appliances that will help you cut electricity costs while reducing your carbon footprint.
Overall, there are endless options that will allow homeowners to make simple changes that will pay huge dividends. Better yet, there are so many energy programs that can help support your family in making these energy-efficient changes to your home. Consider doing some research on what options are available to you!
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