Ontario Propane Blog

5 Ways to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient and Save Money

Posted by James Callow on Fri, Aug 17, 2018 @ 04:09 PM

Woman enjoying hot beverage in comfort of her house

September is approaching and fall is just around the corner. That means bundling up in your favourite wooly sweaters, slipping on your boots and warming up your house during those impending chilly evenings.

It also means more expensive energy bills. However, there are many tips and tricks you can take on board to cut those costs down. 

Making your home more energy efficient will not only help you save money, but it will allow you to cut down your carbon footprint and lead a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Budget Propane Ontario has listed five ways that will help you create a greener and more cost-effective home:

1 - Lower your thermostat

Dropping the temperature on your thermostat by just three to dive degrees will reduce your monthly utility bill and use less energy. In fact, it has been found lowering your thermostat by just 10 to 15 degrees during the work day will save you between 5-15% on utilities each year. It is a great idea to get into the habit of lowering your thermostat when you leave the house.

Even better, a programmable thermostat will allow you to control the times that your heating comes on, while a smart thermostat will allow you to program your heating any time of the day from wherever you are.

2 - Power your home with propane

When people think of propane they often think of camping or barbecues. Propane, however, is actually a great cost-effective and energy efficient solution to power your home when compared with conventional gas and electric systems.

Propane is cheaper, safer and more durable and can be used to heat your home, heat your water, power your appliances, provide backup power when outages occur and even provide cheaper supplemental heating such as fireplaces or space heaters.

3 - Be conscious of running water

Homeowners can save significant amounts of money each year by simply making small changes to their water usage. It’s important to be conscious of running water while doing daily activities such as brushing your teeth or shaving.

Other advice could be avoid taking baths which typically use 75 gallons of water compared to a shower that is around 17.2 gallons on average, or avoid doing laundry when you only have a half-load to put in your washer.

4 - Make sure you windows are sealed

Making sure your windows are all correctly sealed will reduce the risk of air leaks and stop cold drafts entering your house. Simply improving insulation by covering them with plastic sheeting or adding weatherstripping around the frames will seal all gaps and cracks and improve the efficiency of your home’s heating system.

5 - Insulate your attic and basement

Basements and attics are the two biggest offenders when it comes to air leaks. Making sure these areas are properly insulated will improve your home’s heating, and that in turn will cut down on costs.

This is slightly more expensive compared with the previous lifestyle changes, but it will have some significant benefits to the efficiency of your home’s heating and in turn will increase the amount of money you can save each year.

Other tips for improving your home’s energy efficiency include:

  • Inspect your furnace filter monthly, or at minimum every three months. Replace when dirty and improve your furnace’s operating efficiency.
  • Reverse the flow of your ceiling fan in the winter months. This will help prevent warm air from escaping through the ceiling by redistributing it throughout the room.
  • Install a timer on your water heater. Consider turning it off at night and back on in the morning before you wake up.
  • Finally, make sure you let the sunshine into your house. Open your curtains during the day and let the sun heat your home.

Want to learn more about how propane can help your home become more energy efficient? Contact Budget Propane Ontario todayDownload The Benefits of Switching to Propane From Oil or Electricity eBook

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