WHAT RESIDENTIAL ENERGY SAVING TACTICS ARE BEST?
For new Texas homeowners, there are a lot of firsts to explore on this homeownership journey, your first fall being one of them. As winter approaches, it becomes more critical for every resident to consider how they can save energy on their property. It’s crucial to find a balance between home comfort while actively trying to save power. If you don’t know where to start, use these tips in order to live with energy efficiency in mind as we move closer to the coldest season.
Adjust Your Thermostat
Around this time every year, the temperature begins to fluctuate rapidly, both inside and out. An easy way to create a comfortable home while promoting power saving tactics is by reprogramming your thermostat. The weather changes can feel overbearing at times, which is why adjusting your thermostat to the right setting is essential. If you own a digital or analog thermostat, these technical adjustments can vary depending on your specific device.
If you want to preserve energy to the maximum, replace your analog or digital thermostat with a smart thermostat. A smart thermostat can be programmed to automatically change the interior temperatures according to a homeowners’ sleep patterns, personal preference, outside temperature, and even vacancy. When looking for the right smart thermostat, consider outdoor weather patterns, electrical compatibility, and installation. To save yourself time and power while trying to lower your electric bill, installing a smart thermostat in your home can be beneficial.
Replace Appliance Filters
Along with checking or upgrading your heating systems, replacing the air filters in your appliances is another great way to preserve energy and promote healthy indoor air. Dust, debris, and dirt build-up can alter your energy usage by making it harder for these appliances to work effectively. When your appliances work harder than intended, it can negatively impact your home comfort along with increasing your power bill. Notably, these dirty filters can also impact your overall indoor air quality.
Although filter changing patterns can vary based on the device, as a baseline, every 90 days, you should replace the contaminated filters in your HVAC systems and furnace. In particular, using HEPA filters is a reliable way to actively prevent debris, dirt, and dust in your devices. In fact, it’s best to replace a variety of particular filters as well, including your central AC/heating systems, air purifiers, clothes dryers and especially your water filters. A cleaner device is a more efficient device, and you can save loads of wasted power by periodically replacing your appliance filters.
Check Your Heating Systems
After regulating your thermostat, the next best step is to check your heating systems for effectiveness. Like most states in the U.S., Texas homeowners should regularly check their heating systems in the fall. Prioritize your home’s heating efficiency by checking your heating devices for any damage or debris that could be blocking it. If you analyze your heating systems and they are faulty, a repair or replacement may be necessary. If this is the case, try leveraging a home equity loan to fund this upgrade. This is a reliable way to add secured capital in a lump sum with lower interest rates for expensive appliance upgrades or home improvement projects. You can also use your savings or a credit card to fund any moderate repairs or replacements that may be necessary.
Additionally, your home’s most vital heating systems include your furnace and heat pump. Most new homeowners must evaluate these systems before purchasing a property which may change their mind. In order to preserve these devices along with positive patterns of energy usage, periodically check to see if improvements or replacements are applicable. Nevertheless, understanding the condition of these systems and getting professional assistance can ensure adequate power saving in your property.
Seal Any Leaks or Drafts
Another tactic that new homeowners should consider is to fill any leaks, cracks, or drafts. The U.S. Department of Energy noted that air leaks that are not properly sealed are responsible for about 25-40% of a home’s overall heating and cooling loss. Walk through every room in your home and check for any air leaks, drafts or cracks. Naturally, these crevices are exposing your interior to the outside, thus taking usable energy from your home’s systems while infiltrating your property’s insulation effectiveness.
Two common best practices for sealing your home this fall are caulking and weatherstripping. For stationary objects both indoors and outdoors, you can spare a variety of infrastructural issues by caulking. Some relevant items for application include, non-operable windows, door frames, structural crevices, roofing, plumbing, and more. For conserving energy when using operable items, weatherstripping will work best. Because these devices move, open exposure is prominent, which makes the weather strips most effective. Apply weatherstripping to these following items; moveable windows, rotating doors, garage doors, and more. If you don’t know where to start, some weatherstrip styles to consider are V-strips, felt, adhesive-backed tape, or a door sweep.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, we should try to combine home comfort while having sustainability in mind, that way we can save residential power and the environment all at once. When it comes to the intricacies of home energy saving, try using these simple power saving tactics this fall. For additional energy saving information your friends at Payless Power are always there to help.
If you want to save even more, you can shop around for the best price per kilowatt-hour, especially in deregulated markets like Texas. Payless Power offers no-deposit, prepaid electricity plans that offer affordable rates and customer flexibility that can save you up to 20% monthly on power usage and bills. Find the best energy plan for your Texas zip code today!
