More people than ever are relocating to Greenville, South Carolina. Sure, we have amazing restaurants and local shops, an award-winning downtown, and so many fun activities and events that you can’t keep track of, but that’s not the only reason people are moving here. Compared to the northern states, our tax rates are lower and our weather is phenomenal year round. Our hot summers aren’t as hot compared to Arizona’s scorching summers and our cold winters are not nearly as cold as these coldest 50 cities in America. Even though our weather isn’t as extreme as some states, it would still be nice to save on our electricity bills so we could use that money for bigger and better things (like Ice Cream Station). Below are some easy and cost-effective tips for saving that moolah!
1. Update your Thermostats
When my husband and I moved into our adorable, yellow home which was built in 1978, we were totally awestruck. Our very first home. All to ourselves. No loud neighbors to share walls with. We finally had a yard. A grill. Beautiful hardwoods throughout. We were in heaven. After about a month or so after we moved in, the newness began to fade. Our charming little home also had the original thermostats, cream light switch covers, and yellowed blinds. These little details which seemed insignificant made the home feel much older. We set out to update these items one by one and our thermostats were first on our list. We wanted to update our antiquated mercury-laden thermostats with thermostats that allowed us to set a range of temperatures at different times during the day. Replacing these outdated thermostats was A GREAT INVESTMENT. In the summertime we leave our thermostat at 69 degrees [I know, we like it freezing] while we are home and at 80 degrees while we are at work. Before getting a programmable thermostat I thought that it would take more energy to cool the house back down after being at 80 degrees all day long. I learned that it actually doesn’t take more energy and it saves as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling. The great thing is that programmable thermostats aren’t expensive! We bought our Honeywell RTH 6350 on eBay for around $20, but there are a lot fancier Honeywell options out there as well!
2. Close Your Blinds
I absolutely love natural light. I’ve found that having an abundance of natural lighting in a home is also equally as important to my clients [FYI buying a home that is a dungeon will be hard to sell in the future]. Even though I love having a bright and airy home, it helps to save money on your electricity bill if you simply close the blinds whenever not in use. The hot sun can beat inside and warm up the room causing your AC to have to work over time. Whenever you are at work or running errands, be sure to close your blinds! It will keep your home cooler and help save you money.
3. Turn Off Fans
Another super simple tip is to turn off your fans whenever you are not in the room. When you are utilizing the space, having the fan on is beneficial because it helps to circulate the conditioned air in the room making you feel cooler. However, when you aren’t present, having the fan on doesn’t really work to cool the room.
4. Replace Incandescent Light Bulbs
Another easy and cost-effective way to lower your electricity bill is to get rid of those incandescent light bulbs. Replacing incandescent bulbs with energy efficient LED bulbs saves you money over time. According to the U.S. Department of Energy residential LEDs use 75% less energy and last 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs.
Try these tips and pay attention to your electricity bill to see if you notice a difference. For those of you who are wanting to really take saving electricity to a whole new level, you can learn how to calculate your energy consumption and adjust accordingly.
Have any more energy saving tips? I’d love to hear from you!
