The 40 Best Home Energy-Saving Tips
Energy efficiency and sustainability are a top priority at Spring Power & Gas, and we want to help you use your energy supply efficiently. That’s why we’ve come up with these 40 home energy-saving tips to help you cut back on your energy use.
Tips for Heating and Cooling
Your cooling and heating systems can put a heavy toll on your energy expenditure, so efficiently managing the temperature in the household is a good first step to saving energy. Here are a few useful tips to consider:
- Air out your home in nice weather: Take advantage of moderate temperatures to naturally ventilate your home by opening windows at night and closing them in the morning.
- Close air leaks: You can caulk, seal, or weather-strip windows and doors to prevent energy waste.
- Schedule regular inspections: Your cooling and heating equipment should operate at peak efficiency without experiencing equipment breakdowns.
- Perform maintenance on your cooling/heating system: You should clean/replace air filters, clean evaporator coils, check refrigerant levels, etc.
- Use sunlight to your advantage: During the warmer months, reflect light away using white blinds and close blinds/shades over south- or west-facing windows during daylight hours.
- Use fans throughout the warmer seasons: They’re helpful even in higher temperatures. Make sure to turn off fans when leaving, as they cannot cool rooms, just the people in the rooms.
- Install a programmable thermostat: They can adjust the temperature automatically, even in your absence.
Tips for Home Improvement
Sometimes, even when you’re following energy-efficient methods, you still don’t get the results you want because the house itself is working against you. That’s when it’s time to try your hand at some nifty home improvements. Here are some ways you can make your house more energy-efficient:
- Conduct an at-home energy assessment: This will help you figure out if you have any problems like air leaks and determine the level of insulation you’ll need.
- Plant trees outside the house: During the warmer seasons, they provide much-needed shade that cuts down on mechanical cooling.
- Replace traditional light bulbs with LEDs: They’re more durable, have lower heat outputs, and expend less energy than regular bulbs.
- Insulate hot water pipes: This prevents heat loss and allows you to lower the water heater setting.
- Install high-performance windows with low U-values: The lower the value, the better the window insulates, meaning less heat comes through your windows.
Tips for Appliances
Common appliances can drain electricity, and you need to handle them responsibly. Here are some home energy-saving tips you can apply to various household appliances:
- Shut off and unplug electronics when not in use: This allows you to eliminate unnecessary energy consumption patterns.
- Set your refrigerators to 37 degrees: You can also achieve the most energy-efficient temperature level by setting your freezer to 3 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Reduce your water heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit: The water will still be too hot for bacteria to grow, but you’ll cut down on your energy waste.
- Limit midday washing/drying of clothes: Energy consumption peaks during the afternoon, especially during warm spring/summer days. Also, keep cooking and showering to minimal levels.
- Avoid using the hot water setting on your washer: This takes much more energy than the cold and warm water settings.
- Clean your dryer lint filter between each run: Doing so will help your dryer last longer while speeding up the drying process for your clothes.
- Run the dishwasher when it’s fully loaded: Your dishwasher uses the same amount of energy each time, regardless of load size.
- Skip your dishwasher drying cycle: Running the heated cycle means more energy consumption, so air dry instead or use a cool-air dry.
- Don’t use your oven on hot days: Instead, try cooking on the stove, microwaving, and grilling outdoors.
- Update to Energy Star appliances: These are more efficient and can cut home energy usage in half.
Tips for Warmer Weather
As summer approaches, so does the need to change course and find sustainable ways to keep you and your family cool while keeping your home’s interior comfortable. After all, it takes a sustainable effort to make the most of your summertime without overusing your energy sources. Here are some home energy-saving tips for warmer weather:
- Get an energy-efficient dehumidifier for your AC unit: This device helps lower the humidity inside your home.
- Check your attic and basement for air leaks: This is a proper home air-sealing technique that can keep cool air in and warm air out.
- Keep your thermostat at 78 degrees: This pushes you to cool all your rooms naturally, even if you don’t have a programmable thermostat.
- Don’t rely on your home’s electricity during peak hours: Electricity consumption and demand are at their highest during these times, which increases the toll on the electric grid.
- Spending time outdoors: Minimize your reliance on home energy while getting some much-needed fresh air.
Tips for Cooler Weather
Finding sustainable heating options during cooler weather can be difficult, especially if your region experiences harsh winters. Without energy-saving techniques, you end up putting more load on your appliances and seeing your electric bills skyrocket. So how can you keep your family warm and cozy during the winter? Here are some home energy-saving tips for cooler weather:
- Close your fireplace damper: You will prevent heat from escaping through the chimney. A glass screen is another helpful tool as it can radiate heat from the fire and still prevent warm air from escaping.
- Avoid blocking your air vents: The key is to increase circulation while decreasing the amount of air pressure in your ductwork.
- Turn off your holiday lights when not in use: This eliminates a source of energy waste while still allowing you to be holly-jolly when the mood strikes.
- Place rugs on your hardwood floors: This will increase ventilation and keep your feet from walking on chilly floors.
- Run full loads of laundry: When it comes time to wash your clothes, running full loads helps reduce hot water consumption.
- Reverse your ceiling fans: Many fans can reverse the direction they rotate so that it pushes the rising warm air down to the rest of the room.
Tips for Lighting
Proper lighting is essential for establishing a safe and comfortable home. However, as convenient as lighting can be, it is vital that you find ways to reduce your consumption while keeping your items functioning properly. What are the best energy-saving tips for home lighting? Here are a few ideas:
- Install dimmers on your lights: Control the level of intensity your light sources emit to reduce the amount of electricity you regularly use.
- Clean your light bulbs regularly: According to Consumer Reports, dust accumulation can reduce illumination by 50% or more.
- Install motion sensors in all your rooms: Your lights will only turn on when these sensors detect someone in a room, helping you reduce energy consumption.
- Use translucent lamp shades: Unlike lamp shades made out of thick material, translucent ones allow bulbs to shine brightly, allowing for fewer light sources.
- Use three-way bulbs for lighting distribution: These products offer more than one level of lighting, allowing you to control how much light you have.
- Opt for electric lamps: Electric lamps provide higher levels of illumination at a lower wattage than ceiling lights.
- Place your lights at various heights: If you have a patio, this increases light distribution, and you won’t need to purchase additional lights to increase outdoor illumination.
Get More Help with Spring Power & Gas
Your home is essential for your well-being and happiness. With these home energy-saving tips, you can reduce energy consumption patterns and minimize your carbon footprint. Want to make your home even more energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable?
You can promote sustainable living by offsetting your energy usage and supporting ecological innovations such as our environmental fund. You’ll learn that Spring Power & Gas is the ideal choice for environmentally-friendly energy services. Sign up for our services and talk to our experts to learn more about what we can do for you and your household.
If you want to learn more, check out our blog and see how you can do your part to preserve our planet.
