Commonwealth Edison is raising its rates an average of 21% effective June 1. Even if you buy your electricity through a consortium, rather than directly from Com Ed, changes are your rates will be going up as well. So, more than ever, you’ll want to take steps to reduce your energy costs. Here are 20 suggestions.
What you eat
What you eat can actually reduce your energy bills.
- Cook out. You won’t be running your stove or oven, and who doesn’t love a burger, veggies or other food prepared on the grill?
- Eat cold. Instead of preparing hot foods, eat fruits, salads and other cool items that don’t need to be heated.
- Nuke it. The microwave uses less energy than your stove or oven.
Fans
The more you can use fans, the less you will need to run your AC unit.
- Install an attic fan, which can cool your entire home.
- Run ceiling fans when you are in a room. Ceiling fans can allow you to set your thermostat an average of four degrees higher and keep you just as cool.
- Ceiling fans cool people, not the room. So shut off the fan when you are not in the room.
Windows
- When the weather cools off, turn the AC off and open the windows.
- Use your blinds, curtains and window treatments to prevent the hot sun from warming your house during the day.
- Seal your windows to prevent the hot outside air from entering your home.
- Better yet, install energy efficient windows. Click here to learn more about energy efficient windows.
Your AC system
- Clean your filters at least monthly. Dirty filters prevent your system from operating at peak efficiency, and can reduce the life of your unit.
- Make sure your AC system is running at peak efficiency. Have a professional HVAC company inspect it.
- If you have an older air conditioning unit, consider investing in a more energy efficient system. That investment will result in lower energy bills, saving you money in the long run. Click here to learn more about energy efficient air conditioning units.
- Check the vents. Make sure they are open in rooms you use, and closed in rooms you don’t use.
- Set your thermostat higher when you are not in the house.
- Better yet, invest in a programmable thermostat to automatically control the temperature. Even better, many thermostats can be controlled via apps on your tablet or mobile phone.
Lighting
- The no-brainer is to turn the lights off when you are not in the room.
- Purchase energy efficient light bulbs. Check out this blog from our sister company – Romitti Electric
- Consider lighting and other systems that can be programmed and even controlled via apps on your table or mobile phone.
