Money and Energy Saving Hacks for Heating/Cooling Your Home
One of the best things you can do for your wallet and for the environment is to find more efficient ways to heat and cool your home. It doesn’t take much effort to reduce the amount of energy that you consume in your home, but it can have a positive impact on the environment, and you can save money in the process.
Here are the top money and energy saving hacks for heating and cooling your home.
Use a Programmable Thermostat
Your thermostat is the main device that you use to regulate the temperature of your home. You simply configure a few settings in order to heat or cool your home as you desire. The problem with traditional thermostats is that you must physically change the settings on the thermostat.
If you’re not home, or not in the same room as the thermostat, you have no way to control the temperature of your home. This can lead to wasted energy, as your home is heated or cooled unnecessarily when you are away from home. Thankfully, there is a solution that can help you save money when heating and cooling your home!
One of the best ways to save money and take control of your home’s temperature is to get a programmable thermostat that can be controlled by an app on your phone. The Nest Learning Thermostat is one of the most popular programmable thermostats available. You can use it to remotely control the temperature of your home.
Over a few days, the programmable thermostat learns your routine, and it can automatically adjust the temperature when you are away from home. You can also monitor how much energy you use so that you can use less. Not only will you save money over time, you will also conserve energy.
Heat a Smaller Area of Your Home
One a chilly winter’s night, you want to stay warm and cozy, but it’s not necessary to heat your entire home in order to do so. Most people only spend time in one or two areas of the home each night. Instead of heating your entire home, you can conserve energy by only heating a smaller area of your home.
Consider your nightly routine when you get home from work. You likely head to the kitchen for dinner, then head to bed for the night. You can use a heater to heat smaller areas of your home while you are in each of those areas instead of using your central heating system to heat up your entire home. This also helps you adjust the temperature based on the preferences of each person in your home.
There are a wide-range of energy-efficient heaters available for you to use to heat up a room, and save money and energy by not heating up the entire house.
If you live in a climate with a milder temperature, or if you simply don’t mind a light chill, you can skip the heater altogether and bundle up with blankets. Just make sure you maintain a safe and comfortable temperature in your home while you conserve energy.
Use a Fan to Cool Your Home
On warm spring and summer days, you want to stay cool inside of your home and you have several options to help you do so.
If you live in an area with cooler temperatures, you can simply open the windows and let a cool breeze in to cool your home. But, on hot and humid days, you can utilize a fan to help you properly cool your home with less reliance on central air conditioning.
There are many different types of fans that you can choose from. You can utilize a large fan that will heat a large area, or a personal fan that will keep you cool and comfortable. You can also select an outdoor fan that will help you stay cool when working outdoors or holding an event outside. Consider what type of features you need in your fan, so that you can choose the right fan for you.
Switch to Renewable Energy
Another step that you can take to save money and energy when heating and cooling your home is to go green by switching to a renewable energy source. Two sources of renewable energy are solar energy and wind energy.
To switch to solar energy, you can install solar panels on your home. Although you will have to make an initial investment, these solar energy panels can often pay for themselves over time. Some states even offer tax incentives for home owners who install solar panels on their homes.
Solar panels work by absorbing sunlight. That sunlight is converted to an alternating current, which then flows to the home’s electronic panel. Solar panels can work in conjunction with your home’s existing electrical system to provide a source of renewable energy. You can learn more about the power of solar energy from this article about how to harness the power of the sun.
Another option for switching to renewable energy is to take advantage of wind energy. Solar energy is more well known, but wind energy is taking over renewables. Although you may not be able to purchase and set up windmills to create energy, you can switch to a green energy electricity provider that uses wind energy. Simply search for a green energy electrical provider in your area.
When you use a renewable energy source for your home, you can reduce the amount of energy that you use to heat and cool your home over time. Switching to a renewable energy source can also save you money.
Take Small Steps to Conserve Energy
These are a few ways that you can start using less energy to heat and cool your home. You can start to save money and energy by taking small steps, and then try different methods to use less energy. When you take control of your thermostat, and use a bit of creativity to conserve energy, you will save money and you will have a positive impact on the environment.
Please share this article to helps others learn about how to conserve energy and ensure a better future for our children.
