How to save money in your utility bills
It is very important to pay attention to how much money we pay monthly on utility bills. As Toronto Hydro has announced already, hydro has increased between 3% and 15%. Natural gas has also increased drastically over the years. A water bill comes along with sewage consumption, which is charged according to the water usage. So that is up to the property owner to try and find ways to reduce those bills. Here are some tips that may help you save some money:
- Turn down the domestic hot water supply temperature to the warm position. Besides helping to save on the bills, it also prevents unwanted hot water burns, especially in children.
- Have a thermal blanket around the water thank. It will help the water to stay hot longer and the blanket will pay by itself with those savings.
- Inspect your windows and doors, looking for any gaps or air drafts. An easy way to spot air drafts is to light up an incense stick and pass it very slow around doors and windows, playing attention to the smoke movement. If you find any gaps or drafts have then repaired with silicone or weather strips. Have a look also around the outlets and receptacles located on the exterior walls. Have them covered with a styrofoam plate (comes pre-cut) under the plastic cover. The cost to make some of these improvements can be lower than $15, as opposed to the $2 extra a month an air draft alone in an exterior door in the winter can cost you.
- Close the curtains in the hot months to help keep the sun heat outside of your house. Do the opposite in the winter time.
- Replace the thermostat with a programmable one. With this type of thermostat the temperature can be controlled for 24 hours. Adjust the thermostat temperature as low and comfortable as possible in the wintertime and as high and comfortable in the summer. Make the adjustments for the hours when nobody is at home (have it around 18C in the winter and around 26C in the summer) and at night. Also remember that, by putting the thermostat settings to the maximum or minimum you would not heat or cool the room faster; also, the chance of forgetting the settings on the high or low position can cost you unnecessary energy waste.
- Play attention to dripping faucets. The cost to repair them can be cheaper than the amount you would be paying in your utility bills.
- If you like to drink cold water, keep a full bottle in the refrigerator. If you use the faucet to cool down a cup of water you may end up using 3 to 15 litres of water, depending how cold it is.
- Use cold water cycles to wash clothes .Try to do full loads or lower the water levels in case of less clothing.
- To dry it, hang your clothes outside in the summer if possible and have then hang close to a heating vent in the wintertime. This help to save money in the utility bills and also with your clothes durability.
- If you like to iron your clothes on a regular basis, try to have all the clothes done at one time. You can save a substantial amount, and these savings can go towards buying new clothes, just by avoiding turning the iron on and off every day
Those are just some ideas that can be used to help you reduce your utility bills. By following these tips, you would not only save money but would also help the environment. Try to make those improvements and then compare your utility bills with old ones to see how much you are saving.