Managing Your Family’s Resources: 4 Clever Ways to Reduce Your Energy Bill

Wouldn’t it be nice to get a bigger paycheck? Of course, it would. Just like it would be nice to pay less bills. Resource management is an important life skill, one which matters, even more, when you’re responsible for others. Whether it’s your company or your family, nobody wants to squander their resources and be a letdown to those who rely on them.

With around 1/3rd of households struggling to pay their energy bills, it’s one of the biggest and most targeted areas for cutting expenses. Managing your money is essential if you want to secure your family’s future. Today we’ll look at 4 smart ways to reduce your energy bills.

1. Make Your Home Draft Proof

The biggest waste of energy comes from homes that can’t hold a steady temperature. Whether you’re using air conditioner to keep cool or heating, your aim is to change the temperature inside of your home. This costs energy while your air conditioner or heater run. What you don’t want is the heated/cooled air to leak out through gaps in your door or window frames. If it does, you’ll need to burn more energy to maintain the temperature.

Check around your house and see if you can feel any drafts anywhere. This works best when the outside and temperatures are quite different because you’ll feel where the draft is happening. Often you can fill small gaps in, but windows/doors can have multiple gaps or be old. In these situations, it might be better to replace them. Good windows and doors not only keep drafts out, they’re excellent insulators in general.

2. Adjust the AC/Heating

Just a couple of degrees difference on a thermostat can save you hundreds of dollars over the year. The best thing about this tip is that you’ll hardly notice any difference. Use a jumper in cold weather and you can spend even less on heating – the same with dressing cool in hot weather.

3. Keep Everything Clean

Dust and clutter can both influence your energy bill. If your appliances are dusty then it’s going to take more energy to heat the room through these layers of dust. Air conditioner can get clogged up and slowed down by dust as well, so keep your home clean.

Clutter around your air conditioner or heating units can waste energy too. It blocks the hot/cold air from circulating around the room properly. When that happens, the heater/air conditioner stays on for longer because the overall temperature takes longer to adjust.

4. Keep Well Insulated

Insulation is vital. To start with make sure your windows and doors are solid insulators. Double glazing at the least is recommended, with solid draft free frames. Make sure the fitting is done properly and check around the edges for any drafts.

You also want to try and insulate the walls if you have cavity walls. Loft and basement spaces can also be heat sinks, radiating your home’s energy into the open world. Stop it from happening by using some good insulation, the savings are worth it in the long run.