When you live in a house or an apartment you will have to add or even purchase different utilities for your home. Utilities are the essential things in your life that you’ll need to ensure that you have a comfortable, livable, and working space you can call home. Utilities usually include electricity, gas, water, sewer, Internet, telephone, cable TV, security systems, and trash collection. To live without any of these necessary things can create an uncomfortable living experience for you and your household. In many cases, many rental locations require that certain utilities be turned on before you move into a location.
Utilities can be costly at times, and finding ways to save money on them could be extremely helpful for your pockets. For example, approximately 3.9 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity was used by people in the United States in 2019. Since 1950 electricity use has continued to grow and is expected to increase in the coming years. The average cost per person for electricity usage is approximately 12 cents per kilowatt-hour. For a typical household in the United States, the usage amount totals to about 908 kWh a month of electricity. If such numbers seem daunting, that’s because they are when it comes to your wallet. Below we will give you three tips on how to help lower your utility bills.
1. Maintain your A/C and furnace units.
One way to ensure that you can lower monthly utility bills is to have a well functioning A/C and furnace system. The A/C and furnace systems are what ensure that your home stays well heated or cooled down. When winter hits, you want your furnace to make sure that you and your family stay warm. During the hot, and sweltering summer months, your A/C unit will be your family’s lifesaver. In either case, having well-functioning A/C and furnace units can help to prevent you from having to constantly adjust your thermostat in the house.
As you constantly change your thermostat, this increases the electricity usage for your household. Eventually, you’ll be subjected to a bill that will empty your pockets, leaving you wondering where all of your money went. Have your A/C and furnace units inspected by licensed professionals on a regular basis. They will let you know if either machine is in need of repair, or maybe an upgrade. In the long run this will help you to save money, and lower your utility bills.
2. Install a low flow showerhead.
In addition to using them to clean yourself off, showers are places where we can go to relax. In some cases, this includes taking longer showers than usual. This can be a hindrance to your water bill, due to your increased water usage. One way that you can prevent your water bill from rising, and also save money on this utility bill, is to purchase a low flow showerhead. These devices work by aerating water, leading to a lower flow of water.
The price range of these shower heads can fall between $5-$50 making the purchase even easier for those people who might be cash strapped. As you continue to save money with your water usage, you can then have more to focus on other things like how to decorate a house when you’re just starting out. Focus more on those interior decorating concerns, as you take this easy step to help save money on your water utility bill.
3. Buy smart when purchasing appliances.
When you add appliances to your home, try to “buy smart.” There are a collection of appliances like refrigerators, boilers, water heaters, and dishwashers which have Energy Star logos on them and help with cost savings. This means that the appliance meets the federal standards for energy efficiency. These devices have been built to help the environment, while also helping you to save money on such utilities as electricity, and water.
