Improving your homes energy efficiency will save you money on your electricity bill! How do you make your home more efficient without buying new, expensive, energy efficient appliances? Well there are plenty of low cost ways that you can improve your homes energy efficiency.

The first step that we suggest is to upgrade to LED lighting. LED light bulbs have taken over the market, they are exponentially cheaper than they were 10 years ago. LEDs also now come in a broad color spectrum, you no longer have to settle for the bright white, almost blue, light that old LEDs emitted. They even sell LED “Edison” bulbs. Just remember that not all dimmers work with LEDs.

Most, if not all thermostats that you buy these days allow you to set heating and cooling schedules. Setting heating and cooling schedules can drastically reduce your bill. In the summer set your HVAC to a higher temp so it does not work as hard when you are not home. Smart Wi-Fi thermostats have the ability to monitor how your homes internal temperature reacts with the outside temperature. They will find the most efficient run cycle for your HVAC unit, to save you the most money. Some will automatically sense when you are not home and adjust accordingly. They also integrate with Alexa or google home which gives you that ability to adjust the thermostat without leaving the couch! To all the dads, aka “thermostat police” there are also settings to lock the temperature.

A south face window in the summertime can let in a lot of heat. Simply putting a blind or shade in the window can improve your efficiency and reduce how much your air conditioning unit runs. Putting new energy efficient windows will for sure reduce your bill but this can cost thousands of dollars.

Energy monitoring allows you to track how much energy everything in your home uses. When you know what is using the most electricity you can adjust your habits accordingly. Energy monitoring can be on the more expensive side and it will only help save money if you actively monitor and adjust your usage.

If you have an older home, you may consider adding new insulation. Some blown insulation can be added to attics without the removal of existing insulation. This can drastically improve your homes efficiency. Before taking this route be sure to talk to an expert to ensure it is the right path for you.

There are many ways to save money by reducing your electricity bill. The biggest hurdle is of course cost. But small home improvements here and there can add up to big savings!

We believe that solar panels are the king of energy savings!