Everyone is trying to save a little money, and one way to do that is by reducing the amount of energy used in your home. The following are a few ways that you can reduce your energy consumption to save money.
- Oven Smarts
One way you can start saving electricity in your home is by using your oven wisely. This is something you can do without buying anything. All you have to do is smart things, like avoiding preheating your oven, which is something you don’t have to do.
Nothing is going to happen to your food even if the recipe calls for you to preheat the oven. Your food is going to get cooked, and you’ll end up saving money. Another thing you can do to save money is avoid opening the door whenever you need to check on your food; use the oven light to check on food instead.
- Natural Lighting
Many people turn on lights in the morning even though there is usually enough natural light outside. What you have to do is figure out ways you can maximize the amount of natural light that comes in your home by purchasing curtains that you can easily open.
You can also ensure that you purchase only light-colored items to place around your home, which reflect light better. You might also want to place mirrors all over the place because mirrors reflect light, and that could reduce your need to turn on artificial lights.
- Short and Cool Showers
Hot water is pretty expensive for you because the water heater has to heat up a lot of water so that you can take those hot showers. If you want to reduce the amount of electricity you use each day, then you want to reduce the amount of hot water you use.
For one, you can turn on the water for a second to get wet. Then, turn the water off. Soap up and scrub before turning the water on again, and you’ll end up reducing the amount of hot water you use every time you shower. Those who are a little daring may want to consider taking slightly cooler showers but only if you can enjoy that kind of rush.
- Go Unplugged
You’d be surprised how much electricity people use when they leave things plugged up. People leave lamps, microwaves, coffee makers, toaster ovens, smartphone chargers, and blenders plugged up all the time even when they are not being used.
Look around your home and see if any of these items or others are plugged up when they are not in use. Unplug everything because even though you are not using them they are still drawing energy, and that means they are running up your bill. Your money is worth more than that, so do this yourself and start training your entire family to practice this because this is going to have to be a united effort.
- Smart Cooking
People waste electricity when cooking in various ways, but they do not have to do this. For example, during the summer you want to stay away from cooking as much as possible because it only ends up heating up the place and making your AC work harder than it needs to.
You are running up your electric bill by using the stove and by making your AC work harder. Try making salads, cold dips, or maybe try some cure meats so that you don’t have to cook. You could also cook outside without the use of electricity if you have an outdoor grill. It might be fun seeing how many meals you can make without turning on your stove much.
These are just some things you can do to reduce your electricity use around your home, but there is more that you can do, like sun drying your clothes or washing your clothes in cold water whenever you can. You might also want to do some washing by hand sometimes so that you don’t have to use your energy-sucking washer. Talk to an energy expert to see if he or she can give you some additional tips.
