With winter approaching we all start thinking about our heating costs going up. There are some inexpensive and easy things you can do to improve your homes energy efficiency. One of the simplest things you can do it to switch out all you incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs. Yes they are more expensive then incandescent bulbs but you could be saving on average up to $40.00 a month on your electric bills. Also, to the benefit of many, most electric companies offer incentives for purchasing LED bulbs. DMEA offers up to $8.00 a bulb. Click on the link for more information http://www.dmea.com/content/residential-rebates#lighting.

 

The biggest expense in winter are your heating bills. 7 to 12% of a home’s heat loss is through windows and doors. Weather stripping around doors, and caulking around doors and windows, can cut down on drafts. Installing insulated curtains will also help keep the cold out. Make sure you change the filter for your furnace as well. This will help reduce energy bills, extend the life of your furnace and improve indoor air quality.

 

 

 

For those who are tech savvy a great way to lower heating costs is to install a smart thermostat.  Programmable thermostats let you set the temperature and have the thermostat change the temperature based on the time of day. What makes most smart thermostats so “smart” is that they learn from your behaviors, allow you to control the climate in your home remotely. It also shows you energy consumption in real-time, and can even adjust themselves based on ambient conditions like humidity. The EPA’s Energy Star program concluded that homes with programmable or smart thermostats can save up to $180 per year on heating and cooling

 

Incorporating these ideas will help lower utility bills, improve health and comfort and minimize the impact on the planet. For more information contact a local Realtor with NAR’s Green Designation at GreenREsourceCouncil.org

“The future depends on what you do today.” Gandhi