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You Can Reduce Utility Costs During the Pandemic

Spending more time at home means there are more opportunities to be wasteful. Try these energy saving tips.

By Lewis RobinsonPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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Life with all of its usual challenges is daunting enough and feels downright out of control during a pandemic. Your children may be doing at-home learning rather than going to school. You may be working from home. More people being at home more often increases energy usage; there’s no way around it. However, there are ways to reduce the energy you use, whether in quarantine or not. These days, every dollar saved can make a significant difference in the functioning of your household.

Save energy and reduce your utility bill by adjusting your home’s use of the following:

Thermostat

Turning the thermostat up just a few degrees during the warmer months is the most useful thing you can do to lower your home’s energy bill. During this time, aim for the highest comfortable setting, ideally 78 to 80 degrees, on your thermostat (but no higher than 84). This may seem hot, but running fans will make it feel cooler. You can see a significant decrease (three to four percent) in your energy use with each degree that you raise your thermostat setting. Fans use much less energy than the air conditioning system (approximately the same as a light bulb). You can purchase an energy saving ceiling fan to decrease your bill even more.

Air Conditioning Filters and Vents

Air conditioning filters help to minimize allergies for many people. Replacing these filters regularly also extends the life of your HVAC system; it’ll work much more efficiently with clean filters. More efficiency means lower utility bills. Replace all of your filters about once a month. You can also get cleanable filters, making your costs even lower since you don’t have to pay for replacements. Also, make sure that all of your vents and return air registers are uncovered; they can easily get covered by rugs, curtains, furniture or other obstructions during daily life.

Window Treatments

Sunlight coming through windows can significantly raise the temperature of a room at certain times of the day. While this might be welcome during cold months, it helps to close window treatments during these times of the day in the summertime. You can now purchase Wi-Fi enabled blinds and shades that you can control from your smartphone, tablet or computer, or program to open and close at certain times.

Lights and Fans

Switching out your standard light bulbs for LED bulbs can make a real difference. LEDs may be more expensive to buy upfront, but they last up to 15 times longer than standard bulbs and only use about 10% of the energy used by traditional bulbs.

Turn off lights and fans when you leave the room. Get smart plugs and Wi-Fi enabled lighting that you can set to turn on and off at certain times or control via your smartphone, tablet, or computer. There are many types of smart devices these days, including thermostats and window treatments that will help save energy by adjusting them when needed instead of only when you’re home. You’ll no longer have to leave a light on all day so that you’ll have a light on in your home when you get home after work or a day out with the kids.

Cooking Appliances

If you don’t need to cook a big meal in the oven, you can save money on cooling costs using smaller appliances. Microwave and toaster ovens, electric pressure cookers, crock pots and convection ovens are options for saving energy. If you must use heat-producing appliances, avoid using them during the hottest times of the day.

Refrigerator and Freezer

Watch those kids who like standing with the refrigerator door open for longer than necessary. Avoid frequently opening the refrigerator and freezer doors. Letting the cold air out and warmer air in will make the compressor work harder, using more energy.

Dishwasher

Just as with the clothes washer, before running your dishwasher, wait until you have enough to wash to make a full load. This will reduce energy and save water. You can also save energy by air drying your dishes.

Laundry Washer and Dryer

Make sure to have enough dirty laundry to make a full load before running the washer. Wash your laundry with cold water anytime possible. Also, air dry whenever you can. When you use the dryer, reduce drying time by putting a few tennis balls in with your laundry. Some dryers also have an option for auto-dry, which is a moisture sensing feature. Using this option will also use less energy than the timed dry setting. To increase air circulation and dryer efficiency, remember to clean the lint trap after each load; a lint-filled trap is also an extreme fire hazard.

Unused Devices

When devices aren’t in use, you should not only turn them off but also unplug them. Unplugging them will avoid “phantom” energy loss. You can also get a smart power strip to make things easier; you can just unplug the entire strip.

Newer appliances and electronics have energy-saving settings. Take advantage of them any time you have the option. Adopting energy-saving practices now will continue to save you money in the future.

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