Let’s face it, the cost of living in Toronto isn’t getting any cheaper for homeowners, so there has never been a better time than right now to find ways to save money!
Here are 14 things you can do to reduce the energy and maintenance costs of your home.
1. Check the insulation in your attic.
If you have an unfinished attic, pop your head up there and take a look around. You should see insulation between the beams, and there should be at least 12-15 inches of it everywhere. If there’s inadequate insulation – or the insulation you have appears to be damaged – it’s time to install new insulation and start saving money on your heating and cooling bills.
2. Lower the temperature on your water heater
The recommended temperature for your water heater is 55°C because it’s hot enough to keep diseases at bay, but it’s not hot enough to cause scalding, thus the energy needed to keep the water above 120 degrees isn’t used effectively. Lower the temperature, save money on your energy bill, and you’ll never skip a beat.
3. Install ceiling fans
Ceiling fans are a low-energy way to keep air moving in your home. Because of the air circulation effect, you can get away with keeping your thermostat a degree or two higher in summer and a degree or two lower in winter, netting a some decent savings.
The most important thing to know is that the air directly below the fan should be blowing down on you in the summer and should be pulled upwards away from you in the winter - you can use the reversal switch on your fan to switch between the modes at the start of each season.
4. Wrap exposed pipes with insulation
Exposed hot water pipes lose heat as they move water from your heater to your faucet or shower. Wrapping them in pipe insulation, especially in cold basements or garages, can make a two- to four-degree difference in the temperature of the water, and it also allows hot water to reach your faucet faster.
5. Install a programmable thermostat
A programmable thermostat allows you to schedule automatic increases and decreases in your home’s temperature, saving money on cooling in the summer and heating in the winter.
They’re easy to install and easy to use, especially if you keep a fairly routine schedule. Just program the thermostat to drop a few degrees at night while you’re sleeping or off at work during the day, and set it to return to your preferred temperature just before you wake up or return home from work. You won’t notice the difference, until you see your lower utility bill.
6. Replace your air filters
You need to replace the filter on your furnace or AC unit regularly. An outdated filter not only doesn’t filter air as well, it also has a negative impact on air flow, meaning your air handling system or HVAC unit has to work harder - and use more energy - to pump out lower quality air.
7. Clear vents of dust & obstructions
None of the vents in your home should be covered or blocked by anything – doing that makes your heating and cooling work overtime. You should also peek into all of your vents and make sure they’re as dust-free as possible, and brush them out if you see any dust bunnies. This improves air flow into the room, reducing the amount of blowing that needs to happen.
8. Hang a clothes rack
Even an efficient clothes dryer can really eat up your energy costs, but it’s convenient for many people. If you’re willing to battle that convenience, you can save money by hanging a clothes rack in the laundry room. If you can hang up 20% of the clothes in a load on a rack, you can get away with running the dryer 20% less than before, saving you cash.
9. Check plumbing for leaks
Do a survey of the plumbing in your home. If you find a toilet is running constantly, it’s going to cost you money. You should also peek under the basin of all the sinks in your home, just to make sure there aren’t any leaks. Got a leaky faucet? You should repair or replace any of those, because the drip-drip-drip of water is also the drip-drip-drip of money; not to mention the terrible interplay between mold and home insurance.
10. Install LED or CFL light bulbs.
LED and CFL bulbs can save you a lot of money on energy use over the long haul, plus they have much longer lives than normal incandescent bulbs, making them well worth the up front investment. Compact Fluorescent (CFL) bulbs tend to be cheaper, but LED bulbs are usually preferable in terms of performance, and have come down in cost quite a bit over the past few years.
11. USE SmartStrip FOR ELECTRONICS
A SmartStrip allows the on-off status of one device to control whether or not there’s power flowing to other devices. Having the power cut automatically from such auxiliary devices can save a lot of money over time, especially since many such devices eat quite a bit of power as they sit there in standby mode, constantly draining your money.
12. Plant shade trees near your house
Mother nature can help you save significantly on your summer cooling costs - and heating costs in winter, too.
Deciduous trees on the western and eastern sides of your house will naturally cool your home during the hot summer months by reducing the amount of direct sunlight that hits your house. In the winter, they’ll lose their leaves, allowing that same sunlight to stream through your windows and heat up the home a bit more. And if you plant evergreens on the north and northwest sides of your home, they won’t affect the sunlight, but will shield your home from cold winter winds.
13. Air-seal your home
In mature homes,it’s important to look for any places where air may be leaking directly into or out of your home. Common trouble spots are around doorways, windows, and even electric outlets.
These aren’t just air leaks – they’re money leaks.
14. Develop a home maintenance checklist
This list should include regular home maintenance tasks that you’d want to do on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. Then, make it a habit to run through the items on this list every so often. Doing so will extend the life of almost everything in your home, saving you buckets of money over time.
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