Easy Ways to Reduce Heating and Electric Bills

With the cold and the bad economy both leaving you shivering, now is the perfect time to assess your household's energy use. There are three simple ways you can reduce your heating and electric bills without having to feel like you are making sacrifices to your routine. And in following these few simple steps, you can also feel good that you are helping to improve the environment by reducing your home's pollution electrical output.

The easiest and most immediate thing you can do is turn off everything that is not in use. Mom and Dad were right to teach the rule of "lights out when you're out," and if you have not yet made the switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, this is a very important first step to decreasing your electric bill. But there are also other big appliances, such as televisions and entertainment units, that draw latent energy when not in use. Hooking these up to a power strip and turning the strip off will help save you money. Small appliances, especially coffee makers that keep water heated to provide a quick brew, also use latent energy and should be unplugged, turned off, or put on "vacation mode" once you are done using them for the day. If you are concerned which appliances use the most energy in your household, a small detector called a Kill A Watt can be purchased for $20-$30 and will measure how much an appliance costs to run hourly, daily, monthly, or yearly. For example, a Bunn coffee maker turned on costs me $33.76 per year, but when switched to vacation mode, it only costs 17 cents.

The second easiest thing you can do is use programmable thermostat. According to the US Department of Energy, resetting your thermostat from 72 degrees to 65 degrees for eight hours a day (such as when the family is at work and school or sleeping beneath blankets at night) can save you 10 percent on your heating bill. It is also a good idea to lower your hot water heater's temperature from 140 degrees to 120 degrees and wrap the heater and pipes in insulated jackets or foam wraps.

And finally, make certain your windows are properly insulated. Your home loses 30-40 percent of its heat through its window panes, and even shutting the curtains once it gets dark can help. But the best thing you can do is purchase insulating kits from the hardware store (for about $2-5). These are easy to apply and the only tool you'll need is a hairdryer. Additionally, apply weather striping, foam insulation, or caulk around your window frames to create a seal to keep out the cold air. And if you have any wall air conditioning units, make sure to seal around those and cover with plastic. Properly insulating windows and doors will decrease heating costs by 20 percent and help keep you and your family toasty warm. Electrician Pasadena CA provide electrical service around Pasadena, CA. Call us today at (626) 603-2025 for free quote.