6 Ways to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient- by Guest Blogger Greg Tillotson

Whether you realize it or not, a house is more than just a house. It’s a system—and one that requires taking measures to make it run more efficiently (while also saving you money). If you’re a homeowner who has lived in your house for at least a year or two, you may have noticed that your energy usage (and energy costs) go up dramatically in the summertime. When summer arrives, so do rising temperatures, forcing many homeowners to crank up their air conditioners to full blast just to keep them cool. Fortunately, there are ways you can cut down on your energy usage and trim down your cooling costs without having to suffer through hot days and nights. Here are six ways to make your home more energy-efficient:

1. Install a Ceiling Fan

When you’re trying to save money on your electric bills, the first step is to limit the use of your AC as much as possible—or, at the very least, run it at a higher temperature so that it doesn’t kick on as often. Fortunately, ceiling fans use significantly less electricity than AC units do and can work wonders for keeping a room cool. It’s important to note that ceiling fans don’t lower the temperature of a room; however, they do make it feel cooler by moving air around. When used in conjunction with your AC unit, you’ll be able to increase the temperature on the thermostat by a few degrees while remaining comfortable. Your AC will run less frequently and, in turn, you’ll lower your energy costs overall. Many homes already have ceiling fans hanging in various rooms, but if you don’t already, consider purchasing ceiling fans for your own home and installing them in areas where they’re needed the most. There are even outdoor ceiling fans you can purchase to keep patio spaces cool as well.

2. Seal and Insulate Your Home

One of the most cost-effective solutions to making your home more comfortable and energy-efficient is to make sure it is tightly sealed and insulated. A poorly insulated and improperly sealed house will allow outdoor air to leak into the house while cool air leaks out through various places in your home, including the cracks around your doors and windows, ducts, vents and through your roof or attic is one of the most common causes of high energy bills. Fortunately, there are a variety of repairs you can make to help you save money on your energy costs. Using a combination of caulk and insulation, plug up any large holes in locations like the attic where there is more likely to be a greater leak and seal up small holes and cracks in your windows and walls. You can also use weatherstripping to seal any gaps in your doors.

3. Install Solar Panels

If you’re willing to make the investment and have the budget for it, then solar panels are a great way to make your home more efficient and offset energy costs. Did you know that the average annual energy usage per person in the United States is $3,052? Solar energy can reduce or eliminate these costs as soon as they’re installed and can lead to long-term savings as well. By having solar panels installed at your home, you can also earn tax credits and rebates. When you file your taxes, you’ll receive 30 percent of the costs for the entire system as a federal income tax credit. When you combine this with state and local rebates and Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) and you can practically cut your total costs in half. Solar panels are also much better for the environment (and better for us, too). While traditional electricity is sourced from fossil fuels, solar panels use clean energy from the sun.

4. Turn Off the Lights

Another simple solution for conserving energy and lowering your electricity bill is to make sure all of the lights in your home are turned off during the day. If the weather permits, open up some of your window coverings to allow natural light to shine in. Simply by turning off the lights in the daytime, you can significantly reduce your energy usage.

5. Unplug Electronics and Unused Chargers

Most people have no idea how much energy they’re wasting simply by keeping electronics plugged in while they’re not in use. Your TV, computers and anything with a clock or light that stays on even when the device is powered off can still drain power. The same thing goes with a cell phone and battery chargers, which can be responsible for at least 10 percent of your energy bill. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to go to each room of your home plugging and unplugging your devices and chargers all the time. A simple solution is to plug these into surge protectors or outlets that connect to wall switches. This way, there’s no power to drain when everything is turned off.

6. Don’t Wash with Hot Water

When washing your clothes in the washer, avoid using hot water when you can. Most people don’t realize that most of the energy used by your washer is used to heat the water. Only a small percentage is used to run the machine. You can save a tremendous amount of energy by simply using cooler water for every load. For more energy savings, take advantage of the warmer weather in the summertime by hanging your clothes out to dry instead of running them through the dryer.

Final Thoughts

These are just a few simple and cost-effective ways to improve your home’s energy efficiency and save money on your electric bill. By making a few easy changes, you can drastically reduce your energy usage and costs, especially during the hot summer months.