13 Easy Ways to Save on Utilities

With the season changing, it’s always a good time to think about your utility bills and how you can easily save during each season. There are so many ways to save on utilities but how about we talk about the easy ones. Here are 13 ways to easily save on utilities.

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1. ADJUST THE THERMOSTAT – The easiest way to adjust the thermostat is by installing a programmable one. They range in price of hundreds (the wifi thermostats look amazing). But the idea is to program the thermostat for different times of the day.
   • Summer: turn the temp higher and even higher when your away
   • Fall/Spring: open the windows in the morning and in the evening to cool the house
   • Winter: turn down the temp and bundle up!
     
2. ELIMINATE DRAFTS BY REINSTALL WEATHER STRIPPING – Cold or hot air can come into a house from gaps around doors/windows. An easy way to solve this is reinstall weather stripping around them or get a door block to stop the air from coming under a door. Also, beware of keeping the door and windows shut when it’s hot/cold.
   
3. REPLACE LIGHT BULBS – The new tech that has come out for light bulbs is pretty amazing. There are now so many energy-efficient options and most packaging shows you the savings. I personally love the LED lights, they are fantastic!
   
4. INSULATE PIPES & WATER HEATER – This one works better in an unfurnished basement or crawl space for the pipes. But it’s always a great idea to insulate the one that that heats and stores your hot water! This could save you 7%-16% annually and it cost around $30 (from energy.gov). We need to insulate our water heater!
   
5. ADD INSULATION – More insulation… It’s important to help keep the heat/cold in but also out. Make sure your attic is properly insulated and insulate a basement (if you have one).
   
6. CLOSE VENTS THAT AREN’T BEING USED – If you have rooms in your home that do not get used often (every day), turn the vents to close and shut the door to that room. This way you are only heating/cooling rooms you are using.
   
7. UNPLUG ELECTRONICS – This is where surge protectors come into play. Even when an electronic is turned off it is still using power. Plug multiple items into a surge protector to make it easy to turn them all off. Plus it will help protect your electronics.
   
8. LET THE SUN IN OR KEEP IT OUT – When it’s cold outside open the windows and let in the sun/heat to help heat your home. Then when it’s hot outside use blinds/curtains to keep it from heating your house.
   
9. THINK FILTERS – Lots of things have filters and if they are not cleaned or changed, the item has to work harder. So make sure to clean the dryer lint screen and change the air filter on your AC/Furnace often!
   
10. UPGRADE TO ENERGY EFFICIENT APPLIANCES – I am not saying to go out and buy all new appliances but when you need to buy them upgrade to the energy-efficient ones. Plus your gas/electric company has incentives for this (aka: money).
    
11. TURN OFF THE LIGHTS – This one is a good habit to have. When you leave a room, turn off the lights. Or if it’s sunny outside, turn the blinds to let in a more natural FREE light.
    
12. CUT IT OUT – This one is more for subscriptions. If you have a landline and a cell phone, cut the landline. Cut out cable and get a home antenna to watch FREE TV (you can also use Sling TV, Netflix, Hulu, etc…).
    
13. PAY YOUR BILL ON TIME – You should know that if you pay a bill late you receive a late fee… So save some money and time, put your bills on auto pay.

 I hope that these 13 ways will help you save on your utilities from season to season. Some are easier than others and some will cost you a little. But in the long run, they all will help you save money every month!

Do you have any additional tips or ways to save on utilities? I am always looking for new ones!