If you are an average person living your everyday life, then there are a couple of things you probably worry about each month. It’s usually along the lines of having a job, taking care of your family and friends, and having money to pay the bills. So, getting to fix (or at least lower) some of these “issues” can be a great deal of help. And the easiest thing you can work on is reducing your bills. This is why Florida real estate is so great – it offers you a chance to do some work on your home. There are a lot of energy-efficient homes all over the state. In this article, find out how your home can become one of them! Today, we give you some of the best tips to save on energy in your home!
Energy-efficient homes save on the light
One of the biggest spenders in every home across the country is the light. We use it for everything – to read, do things during the night, and it helps us see. Of course, you cannot regress back to the olden times of using torches and lamps within a home. However, there are a couple of things you can do to save your money on lighting by doing what all energy-efficient homes do.
First, you can stop using unnecessary lights. Go through your rooms, and see how many light bulbs there are working at the same time. Then, decide how many of them you actually need. Just to give you an example, if you switch off two 100-watt bulbs for two extra hours each day, you save $15 each year. If you want to save even more money, you can switch to LED lights. You can also use table lamps and track lighting in hobby rooms as well as the kitchen. These might be weaker, but all energy-efficient homes use them often.
There are other things you can do, too. If you moved from a bigger city, for example, from New York to Florida, then maybe you are used to living in small apartments with not a lot of windows. In Florida, however, not only you usually get a lot of space – you get a lot of sun as well! You can always use this for your advantage. If you have windows that are facing south, then each of them can light up 20 to 100 times of its own area! This is a huge space in your house that gets light during the day. For these spaces, you probably don’t need light in the morning and afternoon.
How to save on water
The other big spender in your home is the water. If you want to have one of the energy-efficient homes, you will need to figure out how to save on water. First, be aware of just how expensive hot water is. You not only spend water, but the electricity to heat it up. To give you another example with numbers – get two of your family members to cut their shower time by a minute each. This way, you save over $30 a year! This is a huge amount of money for just a little time.
You should also start turning water when you are doing little things around the home. Whenever you are:
- shaving,
- washing hands,
- or brushing teeth, shut the water off until you are done.
If you cut the usage by 5%, you can save about $19. Finally, go through your home and fix every hot water leak you have. This simple home improvement can yearly save you up to $9!
Think about how electronics affect your bills
Another huge factor of making energy-efficient homes is controlling your electricity bill. The biggest factor for this is how you manage your items. First, whenever you are not using them, unplug them instead of putting them on standby. The standby usually takes 10% of the household’s annual electricity bill. This is quite a lot of money for the time you are not using an item! Once you start unplugging everything, you will save $50 a year!
Along the line of unplugging your electrical devices, think about switching to laptops instead of desktop computers. First, they are easier to transport with Miami movers than the complex desktop setup. Not only that, but they are great in energy-efficient homes. By using it for two hours per day instead of your desktop, you will save $4 per year.
Finally, when you are switching electronics, consider giving away your old TV set as well. You can either donate it or put it in an affordable storage South Florida. Energy-efficient homes don’t use these because a 42-inch LCD costs them $6 per year if they watch it an hour each day!
The weather in Florida can be an adversary
As you know from moving to Florida, the weather here can be quite difficult. It is the reason why many people opt to fight it with their A.C.s and similar cooling devices. These, however, take up a lot of power, so energy-efficient homes find various ways in which they change their usage.
First, when you are out of the home, you should consider turning off your air conditioner. Yes, your house will be pretty hot when you come back. However, if it’s off five hours a day while you’re not home, you will save $16 in the period of 60 days.
If you have a thermostat controlling the temperature of your home, then you can play with it to get energy-efficient homes. When you lower it by two degrees, you save 5% on your bill. If you lower it three degrees more, then you save 10%, which can be pretty significant. As you already know, every penny counts, so do your best to preserve the energy and your money, wherever you see fit!
