It is always a good idea to cut down on your bills and outgoings, which is especially true today when so many of us are seeing our incomes squeezed in a tight economic world. One area that many of us find ourselves paying far too much for is our utility bills. Here we are looking at six ways we can cut these bills.
Table of Contents
Use Less Energy
It is often the simplest thing we overlook in place of elaborate solutions. Look at your energy use and see if you could cut it down. Options include checking if your heating is set too high, does the timer comes on before you need it, and you are heating rooms when not in use.
Install a Smart Meter
A smart meter is a great way to see how much energy you are using and how much each activity costs you on your utility bills. You can monitor and see what occurrences cost uses the most energy. It could be running a bath or keeping the outside lights on after everyone is in the house. Having this information allows you to change behaviors, save money, and be more environmentally friendly.
Upgrade Your Appliances
Old appliances are unreliable and consume significantly more energy than new ones. Whether it’s the washing machine, fridge-freezer, or the air conditioner, it can save you a load to upgrade. Consider that replacing your air conditioner with one of these new goodman air handler units can save you up to 40% on energy costs. It’s not difficult to see the advantage.
Create a Smart-Home
We spoke earlier about a smart meter. If we take this idea further, we can create an entire smart home. This is a house where every aspect of the home can be controlled remotely or engaged autonomously. Functions include security, lighting, stove, doors, and windows (including blinds). Being able to control the home from work or anywhere else allows you to turn appliances off or on if your schedule changes.
Upgrade Insulation
Heat loss is a major cause of high bills in domestic properties. The major reason for this is poor insulation. Home insulation comes in two categories, attic insulation, and wall cavity insulation. Attic insulation prevents heat from leaving your property through the roof. This is the easiest to upgrade or replace. Cavity wall insulation is more difficult. It is foam insulation placed in the cavities between the walls. The trick is despite having to get access to the inner wall if it has a cavity. If you can replace the insulation, you will find yourself in a much warmer, cozier house that costs less to heat.
Produce Energy
It is possible to produce energy for yourself in many properties. If you have roof space, you may wish to consider installing solar panels. If you have a large garden or land, you could even erect a wind turbine. Both options can yield electricity to reduce or eliminate your monthly utility bills. If you produce too much, you can even sell power back to the grid.
Featured photo created by wayhomestudio – www.freepik.com
