Introduction
Making small changes to your home can have a big impact on your energy usage, and it doesn’t take much time or money. You can start by replacing incandescent light bulbs with LEDs, upgrading your thermostat and sealing up air leaks in your home. These simple steps will help reduce your carbon footprint while saving money on utility bills!
Replace incandescent light bulbs with LEDs.
LED light bulbs are a great way to save money and energy. They’re more expensive up front than incandescent lights, but the benefits outweigh the costs over time.
- Choose LED light bulbs with a warm color temperature (e.g., 2700K). This kind of bulb gives off soft light that’s ideal for task lighting in your home or office space; it doesn’t create glare and isn’t harsh on your eyes like other types of lighting can be at night when people have to work late into the evening without breaks or other distractions from their day-to-day activities outside their homes/offices/workplaces/.
- Choose dimmable bulbs instead of non-dimmable ones so you don’t have any unwanted flickering when setting up moody lighting conditions within specific areas throughout your house or business officespace.”
Upgrade your thermostat.
The thermostat is the most important device in your home. It controls how much heat you get and how much electricity is used by your appliances. If you have an older model, it may be time to upgrade to a new one that can be controlled remotely and set up to turn on and off automatically at certain times of day.
If you’re looking for something more advanced than what’s available from your local hardware store or big box store like Target, consider one of these options:
- Nest Learning Thermostat ($199) – This smart thermostat has Wi-Fi connectivity so it can connect with other devices such as smartphones or tablets so that they know when the heat should go on during winter months when people want their houses colder than usual (or vice versa). You can also set schedules for when the heat kicks in or goes off depending on whether you’re away from home all weekend long; those who work full-time during regular business hours might want their house heated up while they’re at work since many people prefer having plenty of hot water available whenever they need it instead of having cold showers each morning after waking up early enough before heading out into traffic every morning rush hour traffic jams make getting around difficult sometimes especially if there aren’t any parking spots available near where someone lives.”
Install a smart thermostat.
You can save money and energy by installing a smart thermostat. Smart thermostats are internet-enabled, so you can control them with your smartphone or other device. They allow you to program the temperature at various times of day (or even days). You may also want to set up automatic adjustments for when you leave home, or if it’s getting too hot in the summertime—or even cold in winter!
One last feature: some smart thermostats have built-in timers that automatically turn on or off at certain times of day.
Swap out old appliances for efficient ones.
- If you want to save money and energy, swap out old appliances for efficient ones.
- Use the Energy Star website to find the most efficient appliance for your home.
- Don’t buy cheap appliances! They can cost more in repairs than they’re worth over time.
- Buy appliances with a longer warranty period (three years or more). This will give you peace of mind that there won’t be any problems later on down the road if something goes wrong with your new machine—and it’ll help keep costs down as well!
- Don’t buy anything more than 10 years old; after that point, their performance starts declining rapidly due to wear and tear on components within them (like motors), which can lead them not only breaking down but also becoming very dangerous when working properly again after being fixed incorrectly by someone else who doesn’t know what they’re doing first thing when putting things together properly.”
Get an Energy Star rating on refrigerators, dryers and dishwashers.
Energy Star is a government program that rates appliances based on energy efficiency. The label indicates that an appliance is more efficient than average, and can help you save money on your utility bills.
Refrigerators, dishwashers, clothes dryers and other appliances with an Energy Star rating use 20% less energy than those without the label.
Seal up air leaks in your home.
Air leaks are a major source of energy loss in homes. These can be caused by gaps around windows and doors, or by holes in the walls, which allow air to leak out from inside your home.
Fixing these leaks can reduce your energy bills and lower your carbon footprint as you’ll use less heat or coolant than before, saving on both ends of the equation—energy costs, plus greenhouse gas emissions.
Install a whole-house fan to circulate warmer air as it enters the home in the summer and draws cold air out during the winter months.
If you want to save money, energy and help the environment, installing a whole-house fan is the way to go. A whole-house fan is more efficient than using an air conditioner and opening windows. It also doesn’t require maintenance or replacement parts. In fact, it can be installed in your attic without any major structural changes or renovations!
Whole house fans circulate warmer air as it enters your home during the summer months and draw cold air out during the winter months. This draws fresh outside air through ductwork into each room so you don’t have to run an exhaust fan constantly throughout each day/night cycle of heating/cooling (which wastes electricity). Also if there’s a window nearby (like one near where someone might be sleeping), they will be able to open up those windows instead – which takes up valuable storage space within their home!
Making small changes will save you money and help save the planet
When you’re looking to make small changes that will save money, it’s important to first understand what those changes are. You might think of them as “little things” or “simple fixes,” but they can have big impacts on your costs and the environment. For example:
- A $5 bill saved each month can add up over time!
- Replacing an incandescent light bulb with an LED bulb costs about $4 extra per bulb, but it saves about $100 in electricity costs over 25 years (in part because LEDs don’t need a ballast).
- Installing solar panels on your roof can reduce monthly electric bills by 40% compared with standard grid power rates—and if done right, they’ll pay off faster than expected!
Conclusion
We hope this article has inspired you to make some electrical panel upgrades in your home. We’ve discussed a few tips that can help save both money and energy for years to come. Remember, the most important thing is to start! The best way to get started is by asking yourself what changes can be made right now? Then make sure those changes are affordable and doable for you right now so they don’t become overwhelming later on down the line when things get more expensive in general due