In today’s economy, making ends meet is tough. Many are unemployed and those who still have a job are worried about becoming unemployed. So, many are trying to cut costs to try to make ends meet, one place to cut those costs, is on our electric bill, these cuts can last year round. Here are 5 tips you can use to save on your power bill year round with or without the use of wind power.
1. This one thing many over look and should not because it can reduce your power bill considerably. Furnace and a/c maintenance, which can save you money in several ways. First, by having them maintained yearly it will prolong there life thus saving you from a costly replacement bill. Second, it will keep them in top running condition which, will keep them more energy efficient saving you money. Besides having the furnace and a/c serviced regularly, be sure you change the filter every month even if does not look dirty. A dirty filter even if it does not appear to be dirty, will cause the units to work harder cutting down on their efficiency.
2. To help save on your power bill you can turn your thermostat down in the winter when you leave for work and back up again when you get home. If you constantly find yourself forgetting to do this then, you may want to consider replacing your manual thermostat with a programmable one that can be programmed to lower the temperature at a certain time then, raise it, again at a certain time, this way you won’t need to remember to do manually. Whether you do it manually or use a programmable thermostat, the one thing you do not want to do is use extremely low temperatures in inter or extremely high temperatures in summer, as this will cause your furnace or a/c to run excessively to return the house back to a comfortable temperature, thus defeating the purpose.
3. Seal air leaks by taking a trip to the hardware store and pick up caulk and outdoor outlet gaskets (the ones they use behind the outlet covers on outdoor outlets and switches) caulk around doors and windows. Then remove the covers on all the outlets and light switches located on outside walls, and then place a gasket over the outlet or switch then, reinstall the cover. Now take a sharp utility knife and carefully cut off the excess gasket that sticks out from under the cover (they are generally made of foam.)
4. Fewer and fewer homes are built today with real wood burning fireplaces but, if you do have one and use it regularly in the winter, you should also have it and the chimney cleaned once a year. Burning wood can save a lot of money on heat bills in the winter but a heavy build up of creosote can cause chimney fires. If the chimney does not have a screen and cap on it, you should have one put on. Birds will sit on top of the chimney for the warmth, and then be overcome by the fumes, causing them die and fall into the chimney. This can cause smoke to back up into the house.
5. Using wind power to cut the power bill makes sense because, with the technology of today, you can build a roof mounted wind mill for three hundred dollars or less. You can cut you power bill in half or more, depending on how much wind you get, obviously the more wind, the more power is produced, and the less power you will need to buy from the power company. So, when trying to reduce your power bill, consider wind power as a way to cut it in half or more.
With the cost of living rising every day and threat of losing your job, it is even more important to use to reduce your utility bill. to discover affordable ways to use renewable energy sources.
