Money is, unfortunately, necessary to be able to live your life, both in terms of taking care of basic needs and creating memories and ticking off your bucket list.
One vital payment, whether you rent your home or have purchased one, is that of your essential energy bills and here is how to reduce them without too much sacrifice on your or your family’s behalf.
Invest in a Smart Thermostat
If you make just one new investment in your quest to considerably reduce your monthly, quarterly and/or annual energy bills, then look no further than installing a smart thermostat in your home.
There is a wide plethora of amazing advantages in choosing to invest in a smart thermostat, including the following:
- Incredibly simple installation and virtually no maintenance
- An easy way to track the amount of energy your household uses
- A method of keeping your energy bills to a minimum
- Controlling your heating and a/c remotely
- A way of scheduling your HVAC usage
Set Basic House Rules
Another simple, yet impressively effective, way of ensuring that your energy bills come down without having to do anything drastic, is to write, laminate, and attach to the fridge or inside of the door some new house rules.
Simple rules, such as every light must be turned off when leaving a room, that the heating is only allowed on for a certain amount of time each day and that windows and doors should be shut behind people to conserve the heat in each room can make a big difference.
If you have children, you could even choose to add rewards and on the other side, penalties, for not obeying said rules too.
Bathe Less, Shower More
A simple way to reduce the amount of money you are paying for your water is to take fewer baths in the evening, or indeed the morning, and more showers. Furthermore, try to only use the amount of water when you shower as you need, rather than running the water whilst you do something else before you step in.
Other effective ways of saving water include:
- Have a water jug in the fridge rather than running the faucet for a cold drink
- Only use your washer/drier when you have a full load of clothes
- Stop running the faucet when you are brushing your teeth
- Wash up pots and pans in a bowl rather than keeping the water running
Check Your Home’s Insulation
Finally, a more drastic way to improve the energy efficiency levels of your property that will mean an initial financial outlay but will save you substantial amounts of money, in the long run, is to improve the insulation of your property.
Fortunately, there are several simple ways to check if your home is well-insulated or not, which include fluctuating room temperatures, ice, and snow will seems to melt away from your walls and roof particularly quickly, certain cold areas and drafts, and evidence of the beginnings of damp on the inside walls.
