Five Tips for Making Your Home Energy Efficient

As temperatures increase, learn how to decrease your electric bill

With most of the country now officially experiencing summertime temperatures, we are now starting to see our monthly utility bill spiking upwards.  Here are five areas of the home that with a small to moderate upgrade could help to reduce your home’s energy consumption.

Programmable Thermostats. According to Energy.gov, turning your thermostat down/up 7-10 degrees for 8 hours a day could save you “as much as 10 percent a year on your heating/cooling.” So why aren’t people like me taking the time to program my thermostat to the recommended daytime temperature (78 degrees) and evening temperature (70 degrees) to reap these cost benefits? I’m not putting this task off any longer and neither should you.

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Ceiling Fans. Now that you’ve programed your thermostat to save some money, you might find that maybe it’s a little too warm in a particular room. An Energy Star ceiling fan could be your temperature solution. Be sure to check out the blade angle, according to TheSimpleDollar.com, otherwise you’re just cutting through the air. For a relatively low investment (Energy Star fan prices start as low as $XX), you can stay cool all summer long.

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Window Treatments. Adding shades, blinds or drapes to your home windows will help reduce the amount of sun and heat throughout the home.

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Open Doors. Closing doors throughout the home are blocking your system from cooling the whole house.  So why not keep all the doors open to keep cool air flowing freely throughout your home.

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Vents. Most older homes, like mine, have vents located in strange places like closets or hallways. Even places like a spare bedroom that go unused can be a wasted vent. Make sure to close off vents in locations throughout the home so you are not paying to cool areas that are not being used.

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Senior Manager, Public Relations & Giving for Coldwell Banker. Grew up in Sarasota and attended college at Western Carolina University. Athena wanted to wake up in that city that doesn’t sleep so headed to Madison Avenue to start her marketing career. She has been with this awesome brand for more than 15 years and can be found generating buzz about CB in every way possible. Athena helps to grow the brand’s position as the most storied real estate company within the industry and has led many high-profile endeavors; she was at the forefront of the brand’s pioneering smart home campaign, raised $6 million in two years to build 130 Habitat for Humanity homes, and led the Homes for Dogs program in partnership with Adopt-a-Pet.com that resulted in tens-of-thousands of dogs finding their furever home. She currently leads the CB Supports St. Jude program, which encourages the Coldwell Banker network’s 96,000+ real estate agents to make donations to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital for every real estate transaction they represent. In her spare time, you can find her either digging up a new area in her yard for another flower bed or planning her next travel adventure. She's the proud mom of three cats Jolene, Ziggy and Lucy.

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2 Comments

  1. Lupe
    December 19, 2015

    4) One Cleaning Supply at a Time – Instead of cleaning one room top to bottom then moving
    onto the next on cleaning day, pull out one cleaning supply and use
    it everywhere you need to in your home. There is no limit on what you earn – Once you have
    made a good base of clients, you will see that you can earn as much as you
    want. Equipment should also be serviced on a weekly basis to make them more efficient.

    Reply
  2. الشيخ الروحاني
    January 15, 2017

    One Cleaning Supply at a Time – Instead of cleaning one room top to bottom then moving
    onto the next on cleaning day, pull out one cleaning supply and use

    Reply

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