If you look at several of my posts here, you will see I am conscious of my energy costs. We updated to LED lights in our shop. Better light. Brighter. Less frequent replacement on bulbs. Given it being summer, my electric bills are always higher. I really won't know until next winter if it saved me much. I also updated our Dusk til Dawn light to LED. Definitely brighter. Energy savings? To be determined.
I have always felt insulation is the best way to save money. It is not a fun purchase like a TV or quad or gun. It will pay you back quickly though. There is not a lot of insulation I can add at this point without getting expensive. I have my attic stuffed. I can not easily access walls where it might help. Insulating my attached garage would likely help but I haven't done this yet.
Our house has been added onto. Our furnace doesn't run due to the outdoor wood boiler. We don't even turn on the gas. Haven't had a gas bill for roughly 5 years. When we added on, we no longer had a way to vent the water heater. Our only option is a power vent model gas water heater. They are expensive. I haven't done this yet, but haven't ruled it out. In the summer, our electric bill is nearly twice what it is in the winter. One reason is the AC. I believe we are undersized on the condenser and it is working hard. It is also around 20yrs old. I am guessing it would help. The other reason is the electric hot water heater has to work in the summer. In the winter months our OWB pre-heats the water going into it so the elements never kick on. In the summer we don't burn wood so it is all electric powered hot water. Three teenage kids (12-15.5yr old) suck the hot water like no other.
I am slowly upgrading bulbs to LED or the curly Energy Star bulbs.
Outside of ensuring the house is tight, free of air leaks, any other suggestions? I figured this could help a lot of people on here. Our money doesn't go as far as it used to. Any savings to our bills go farther than additional income. Adding income isn't always an option.
I have always felt insulation is the best way to save money. It is not a fun purchase like a TV or quad or gun. It will pay you back quickly though. There is not a lot of insulation I can add at this point without getting expensive. I have my attic stuffed. I can not easily access walls where it might help. Insulating my attached garage would likely help but I haven't done this yet.
Our house has been added onto. Our furnace doesn't run due to the outdoor wood boiler. We don't even turn on the gas. Haven't had a gas bill for roughly 5 years. When we added on, we no longer had a way to vent the water heater. Our only option is a power vent model gas water heater. They are expensive. I haven't done this yet, but haven't ruled it out. In the summer, our electric bill is nearly twice what it is in the winter. One reason is the AC. I believe we are undersized on the condenser and it is working hard. It is also around 20yrs old. I am guessing it would help. The other reason is the electric hot water heater has to work in the summer. In the winter months our OWB pre-heats the water going into it so the elements never kick on. In the summer we don't burn wood so it is all electric powered hot water. Three teenage kids (12-15.5yr old) suck the hot water like no other.
I am slowly upgrading bulbs to LED or the curly Energy Star bulbs.
Outside of ensuring the house is tight, free of air leaks, any other suggestions? I figured this could help a lot of people on here. Our money doesn't go as far as it used to. Any savings to our bills go farther than additional income. Adding income isn't always an option.