5 Signs Your Home Is Using Too Much Energy

Too_Much_Energy

Have you ever experienced walking out to your mailbox, opening up your electricity bill and saying to yourself “OK, how did it get to be this high?” If so, you’re certainly not alone. Lots of people have times when they feel like they are doing all that they can to keep their energy costs down and yet, it only seems to go up in the process.

That’s why we wanted to take out a moment to provide you with a few signs of how you can know if your home is using too much energy, contact Corporate Electric Company LLC to learn more about how to become energy efficient. If you pay attention to these five things, we’re pretty confident that by the time you get your next energy bill, you’ll start to see a noticeable difference—for the better.

Your energy audit is telling you so. A simple thing that all homeowners should to do to see if they are wasting energy anywhere in their home is to have an energy audit conducted. Although you can hire a professional to come in a thoroughly inspect your home, there are also websites that will walk you through how to do it yourself. One site that we recommend is Energy.gov. (Just put “DIY energy audits” in the search field.)

You leave your doors and windows open. If you’re someone who sometimes opens up your windows to let in a cool breeze but you forget to shut them when you turn your HVAC unit on, or you have a habit of talking to a neighbor while standing in your front or back doorway, you are wasting energy. Remember that air is going to go out of whatever crack, crevice or hole there is and so you want to make sure that you do whatever you can to keep them shut.

You keep things plugged in (unnecessarily so). Did you know that there are some household items that drain a lot of your electricity simply by you keeping them plugged in when you’re not using them? Reportedly, plasma televisions waste around 1,400 kilowatts each year, game consoles waste about 230 kilowatts, and even DVD players can waste close to 78—all because they are plugged in when they’re not in use. It would a shame to spend money on something just because it’s connected to an outlet even when you don’t need it. Take the extra step and unplug it.

You don’t have Energy Star appliances. The great thing about Energy Star appliances is that they’re designed to save energy by as much as 30-40 percent each year. So, if you don’t own an Energy Star refrigerator, dishwasher or a service technician just told you that you need to explore some R-22 replacement options for your air conditioner, you might want to consider swapping out what you currently have and getting an Energy star item instead.

You don’t have a low-flow showerhead and toilet. Although most of this article addresses signs that you’re wasting electricity, water use within the home also requires energy. By adding a low-flow showerhead and toilet, you also can save about 30 percent in annual energy costs. You can get both things for around $250-300 and it’s well worth the investment, so consider putting in on your to-do list and getting them soon.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *