While some people have always cared about the environment, we are seeing more people than ever join the fight to become more eco-friendly. In fact, almost 80% of individuals want to live more sustainably. They can do this by being more responsible with transportation, recycling and making environmentally-friendly choices at the grocery store.
But if someone truly wants to live a more eco-friendly life, it also involves their home. In many cases, homes are giant energy hogs and can cost a pretty penny every month in energy costs. As a result, in order to be more eco-friendly (and save some money at the same time), you should look for ways to cut your home energy costs. This article is going to go over a few helpful methods.
Consider a New Energy Provider
If you live in an area with a deregulated energy market, you have a lot of providers to choose from. You might be happy with the service you currently get, but there could be a better deal out there that could save you a significant amount of money. It is good to do a little research and see if you can find a deal better than the one you currently have.
While you could reach out to all of the options directly, that can take a lot of time. Instead, consider using an online resource like EnergyBot. They can help you compare many different energy providers in your area, and save you a lot of time and effort. The sites often also provide great analysis, which is worth checking out as well.
Use Energy-Efficient Appliances
One of the biggest consumers of your home energy are your appliances. Everything from your oven, to your dishwasher, to your fridge, to your washer and dryer use up a lot of energy. While reducing usage is a great way to save energy and reduce costs, that isn’t always possible with these essential appliances like the ones mentioned above.
Instead, consider getting energy-efficient appliances to replace your current ones. They will do the job just as well (if not better), but only use a small fraction of the energy that would have been previously required. Sure, these might have a fairly large cost upfront, but they will eventually pay for themselves in how much you will save on your energy bill.
Turn off the Lights
One of the simplest ways to greatly reduce your energy costs is unfortunately one that a lot of us forget. Of course, we are talking about turning off the lights. Many of us leave lights on for hours at a time, when they don’t need to be on at all. While the cost of leaving a light on for an hour or two is small, these costs can add up.
As a result, be sure to turn off the lights in a room before you leave, and before you go to bed or work, you should check your home to make sure they are all off. In addition to turning off the lights, it’s a good idea to replace your old traditional bulbs with LEDs. These will not only use much less energy, but often give off a more appealing light and can last much longer than traditional bulbs. They are still incredibly cheap to buy at the store.
We hope that this article has been able to help you learn some tips to cut your home energy costs. Whether you change providers, use efficient appliances or be sure to turn off the lights, you should see a significant drop in your energy costs.