Real Estate Tips

People often overlook simple maintenance that could save money on your energy bill. Keeping up with regular maintenance could save as much as 5% on your energy bill. In many homes that could save thousands of dollars a year.

Reducing the cost to heat your house is the fastest way to save money on your energy. Drafts are one form of extreme heat loss. A quick breeze flowing through your house can reverse hours of heating efforts. Checking all of your windows and doors to make sure they close properly can often stop these breezes. You can take this a step further, by weatherproofing your house in the winter. Over the course of a year, stopping drafts an average size home can save several hundred dollars a year.

After heating, cooling your house is the next biggest energy cost. Most people think you can only save money on cooling by replacing your A/C unit. However, there are other ways to reduce your cooling energy bill. Most people use less than 80% of the livable area in their home. This means that one or more rooms in your house go unused for days or even weeks at a time. You can save a great deal of energy today by simply closing off the vents and doors in these unused rooms.

Water heaters work almost 24 hours a day to keep water heated. Reducing the temperature on your water heater will make it easier to keep the water hot saving a great deal of energy. In a house of 4, you will save a hundred dollars or more by dropping the temperature just 5 degrees.

Dishwashers consume a lot of energy. You can reduce the energy and save money on your energy bill by simply cleaning the drain on your dishwasher. A motor is used to turn the water sprayer and drain water both of which use a lot of energy. Cleaning the drain in the dishwasher help it will remove waste water more efficiently. It will also get dishes cleaner.

Surprisingly, cooking uses a lot of energy. It is number 5 on the list of energy consumers. There is really no cost effective way to stop cooking, but you can save money on your energy bill by maintaining your stove. Food on the stove top or reflectors reduces the amount of heat going to your pot or skillet. Clearing away any burnt on food will reduce the cost of cooking and the time it takes to prepare dinner.

Light bulbs cost a lot of money and rack up your energy bill. Not everyone wants to switch to compact fluorescent bulbs. Contrary to popular news, you can save money and still use traditional light bulbs. Simply turning off lights you are not using can save as much as a switch to flourescents. You can save even more, if you install dimmer switches. These switches will let you change the amount of light you use for different tasks.

You don’t have to replace your appliances to save money on your energy bill. Following these simple suggestions can reduce your energy bill quickly. Best of all, none of these changes will cost you a significant amount of money.