Winters mean spending more time indoors and with the family, but it can also lead to higher electricity bills with all that extra heating. The colder the winter gets, the more electricity you use to heat up your home. However, there are minor changes you can make to your home that can significantly decrease your electricity bill. Here are some improvements that can help you save during the next winter months!
Lower your Thermostat
One of the first things you can do to save on your electricity bill is to lower your thermostat. Lowering it by a couple of degrees when you’re not active at home, such as when you’re out or asleep can help save up to 10% and won’t make a huge noticeable difference. A smart thermostat can help you time this better and can be a good investment for the upcoming years of winter.
Adjust Your Hot Water Temperature
For common households in America, the hot water temperature is set around 120-140 degrees. Reducing the temperature about 10 degrees can save around 3-5% on your electricity bills, which can add up over the months. Also by reducing the hot water temperature, you can not only save electricity, but also slow down mineral buildup and pipe corrosion.
Insulate Your Home and Seal Up Cracks
Chances are, there are parts of your home that aren’t properly insulated and are letting heat escape.
For most houses, the least insulated area is believed to be the roof. The easiest way to insulate the roof is by applying insulation boards to the attic floor.
Window and door insulation are also another common improvements to be made. Use spray foam to cover up any cracks that can be on your walls and window frames. Apply bubble wrap directly to your windows to insulate the glass part.
Pipes can also another common escape route for heat. Apply foam insulation around as many parts of the pipe as possible.
Last but not least, don’t forget to close your fireplace damper whenever it’s not in use.
Don’t Heat Up Poorly Insulated Areas
In poorly insulated parts of your house, like the garage and the attic, it’s best not to try heating it up at all since the heat will escape right away. A better alternative is to use a space heater whenever you’re in this space. With it, you’re only heating up the parts of the room that you occupy and avoid heating up unused space.
Use a Heated Table
One of the best alternatives to using your space heater is to get a kotatsu table, a Japanese heated table. The kotatsu table originated in Japan and it’s essentially a low table with a built-in heater on the bottom side and has a blanket that extends out from the table. What makes the kotatsu table a necessity is that it’s very efficient and doesn’t use a ton of electricity. Once it heats up space under the table, the blanket is there to trap it and keep it lasting longer.
Kotatsu tables became extremely popular in Japan due to the fact that Japanese homes are not very insulated. Instead of heating up the whole house, they instead stay under the kotatsu table for warmth and save on their utility bills.
It’s a non-standard way of staying warm in western culture, but it’s one of the most energy-efficient ways to stay warm and can be a cost-effective alternative for saving on your electricity bill.
Wear Warm Clothes
Wearing warmer clothes at home can reduce the need to heat up your home as much. This sounds like an obvious point, but it’s one that’s often looked over. Go shopping for thicker pajamas, undergarments, and socks and it can help reduce the need to set your thermostat at a high temperature.
Use a Rug or Carpet
Little do people know that heat also escapes from the floor too. Setting a rug or switching to carpet can help prevent that from happening. It can also feel better on contact than touching the cold, bare, wooden floor.