How to Reduce your Home Energy Costs for Free

When trying to save money and make your home more energy efficient during the winter months, there are plenty of things you can do, but many of them require some upfront cost.

If you are looking for 5 easy ways to make your home more energy efficient, read this post! Or you know we couldn’t forget about those storage spaces, so this post addresses making your garage more energy efficient.

And how about some simple ways to decrease those monthly energy bills that are FREE! At Cook, we are always concerned with our customers getting the best value for their home and storage needs. Learn more about how we promise you will get the lowest cost possible on a storage shed, with the Cook Lowest Price Guarantee.

Here are 8 suggestions that you can do around your home that won’t cost you a dime!

Eliminate wasted energy

There are plenty of places in your home where energy is being wasted without you realizing how much money is flying right out the window.

Some good practices include turning lights off in all unoccupied rooms, unplugging any large spare kitchen equipment like a refrigerator and turning off any kitchen or bath ventilating fans after several minutes.

Use appliances efficiently

Only run your dishwasher, washer and dryer when you have a full load. Using the cold water setting on your washer can reduce your washer’s energy use by 75 percent. And remember to clean your dryer’s lint trap after every use and use the moisture-sensing automatic drying or low heat settings.

Shut the chimney

It’s best to not use your fireplace/chimney if possible because it pulls heated air out of your house.

When not in use, make sure the damper is closed and there aren’t any smoldering embers. This prevents up to 8 percent of your heated air from going up the chimney. If you decide not to use your fireplace, then block it off with a piece of rigid insulation.

Shorten showers

Reducing time in the shower by a few minutes can save gallons of hot water per month. Because showers account for more than 60 percent of your water heating costs, cutting your family’s showers can have big savings!

Rearrange rooms

Move your furniture so the main sitting area is located near interior walls. This will decrease the draftiness you feel from exterior walls and older windows.

Use the sun

One of the simplest tips is to let the sunshine in during the day. Open drapes, shutters or shades and let the sun heat your home for free. Just remember to close window treatments again at sundown to help insulate your home.

Put your computer to sleep

Utilize the power management (sleep) feature that comes with most computers when you are not using it. When you aren’t using your computer or overnight, turn the computer and monitor completely off.

With Windows, open your power management software and set it to sleep if you are away from your machine for a short amount of time. With Macintosh computers, there is a setting in the Control Panel called Energy Saver.

Unplug electronics

Many electronics like televisions, DVD players, chargers, printers, etc. use electricity even when they are turned off. Each electronic is most likely only losing a few watts, but that can add up quickly over time. Unplug electronic devices and chargers from the wall or switch off the entire power strip overnight.

Now that you have all those energy savings burning a hole in your pocket, what about organizing all that clutter in your home, attic, basement or garage in a Cook Portable Warehouse. Along with our lowest price guarantee and flexible buying programs, we also have strict construction standards. Learn more by clicking below!