If you spend too much on your monthly energy bills, you’re not alone.
The good news is that there are many ways to save money on your monthly bills – and many of them are free (or almost free). Here are 6 of our favorite HVAC hacks to save money and improve home comfort performance in your home:
Drop your water heater temperature. The default setting on most water heater thermostats could be as high as 140 degrees; 120 is plenty.
Supplement you A/C with a ceiling fan. Ceiling fans work great – especially with air conditioning! Ceiling fans allow you to raise the thermostat by about four degrees with no loss of comfort – and at a far lower cost than running your AC.
Close unused air vents. If you have central AC, close air vents in rooms you’re not using. Why pay to cool rooms you’re not enjoying?
Be smart with your clothes washing. Only wash a full load of clothes – and use the warm or cold setting rather than hot. Modern washing machines do just as good a job on your clothes with warm water.
Tame your fridge. Set your refrigerator temperature as close to 37 degrees and your freezer as close to 3 degrees as possible. Also: check refrigerator and freezer door gaskets for leaks.
Use a programmable thermostat. Take advantage of the savings benefits of a programmable thermostat by letting your house run slightly warmer when no one is home. Give up a few degrees at night, too – especially on the hottest days, since it’s the contrast between outdoor and indoor temperatures that matters more than the absolute temperature inside your home.
