Money Saving Ideas in the Home

1. Lower the temperature of your water heater to120 degrees;
2. Raise the AC thermostat by two degrees; and
3. Change the AC filter every month.

These are the typical things everyone tells you to do and yes, they do help. But there are a couple of ways to save money that are less obvious.

We all have become accustomed to having our homes cool in the summer and warm in the winter. According to U.S. Department of Energy (see the chart below), heating and cooling of a home accounts for up to 40% to 60% of the energy usage and the water heater claims approximately 14% to 18% of the energy usage in the home depending upon where you live.

There may be problems that you are not aware of that are costing you extra money each month. Check out our two problems below and how we fixed them, which in turn saved us money monthly.

INTERESTING NOTE: When we bought the house, the inspector did not find the water heater/hot water heater’s broken seam nor did he find the open ductwork. He did try to sell me a contract to have some superficial cracks in the drive way fixed (I declined).

We have experienced very few problems with this house. The builder was proud enough to put his trademark on the front of the house showing he was the builder. This is not a tract home where one builder built everything. The land was developed by the original owner (street plans, utilities and finally the lots). These lots were sold to individual builders. All the homes are brick, but different styles.

The moral here is that just because the original contractor did the installation, it does not mean it was done correctly or for maximum efficiently.

So check the quality of the items in your home to find your own money saving ideas.

To Energy Conservation in our Home

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