Telling people to run around with warm clothes during winter or sit half naked during summers is not a good advice about this. Everybody knows these things, every time I see a news article or blog post about that kind of advice it makes me wonder what are the most effective ways to lower your heating & cooling costs.
- Programmable and new Wifi thermostats are on top of the list. They allow you to control all aspects of your heating and cooling needs. On average you can save 10% on your electricity bill by using these. The savings can increase if you use these to their full potential.
- Dirty air conditioner & furnace filters increase the energy consumption, replacing or cleaning these once a month or as recommended can save you up to 10% during summer.
- Exhaust fans in your kitchen or bathroom should be turned off within 30 minutes when you are done. Replacing these with high-efficiency models will save you money. Install switches with delay timer in your bathroom or kitchen. When you exit the bathroom, turning the light switch off, it automatically turns off the exhaust fan after delay run time.
- Get some modern curtains for your house. They look very nice and makes your house look rich also it will block the sun during summer so your AC won’t have to work as hard. Blackout curtains block noise for a quiet home and save energy during winter by trapping heat inside the house. The windows cause 10-20% of thermal energy loss. You can also get remote control shades as well so you can automate a lot more.
- Replace your old system with energy-efficient products when you buy new cooling or heating equipment.
- Let the air out of your hot-water radiators every season.
- Install radiator reflectors in your house.
- Insulate your house. I will post a separate post about this one because proper insulation is a big task for any house.
Check out our in-depth guide about How to Lower Your Electric Bill.
UPDATE 4/25/2017: We created a List of most effective way to lower your energy consumption at home.