Save Money By Reducing Your Winter Power Bills Fast!
The thick of Winter is the prime time for households to chew through an extraordinary amount of energy, with the need to keep the house and the family warm of paramount importance. The Winter months will soon be a distant memory, but just like a bad hangover, they will leave many households struggling with the aftermath of large Winter power bills. Winter is notorious as the season for heavy use of household items such as the kettle, clothes driers and hair driers just to name a few. Add that to the cost of heating your home and an increase in hot water consumption – suddenly a super-sized power bill is the result!
Winter power bills don’t have to be the scary monster they seem to be! Instead of blindly relying on electricity and blowing out your household budget, try some of these simple tips to help curb your families energy consumption this Winter.
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Let The Sunshine In
When the sun is shining throughout the middle of the day, open all of your blinds and let the natural sunlight in. This can heat your home by several degrees, meaning that there is less work for you heater to do later on in the evening! Just remember that single glazed windows will lose heat just as quickly as they let it in, so as soon as the sun disappears, close the blinds and keep that glorious warmth trapped inside your home!
For other great tips on how to save money by heating your home without the use of power read 10 Ways To Warm Your Home During Winter.
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Light A Fire
If you are lucky enough to own a home with a fireplace, use it! As well as creating a wonderful glowing ambiance, using natural resources such as wood fires can really help cut down on your heating bill.
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Heat One Room
Close the doors to any rooms that aren’t being used so that your heater doesn’t have to work unnecessarily to heat rooms that you’re not even using.
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Hang Your Clothes
If you are heating your home using an air conditioner, gas heater or even a wood fire, use a clothes horse to dry your clothes in the pathway of the heat. This way you are heating your room and drying your clothes with the same power source – rather than adding the cost of using the clothes dryer to the energy bill.
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Double Up
If you are cooking with your oven, leave the door open afterwards to help heat the room. If you must use the clothes dryer, be sure to leave the laundry door open to the rest of the house so that the excess heat wanders into the other rooms. This may not be enough to heat the rooms to the desired temperature, but every extra degree means that your heater doesn’t need to work as hard, thus saving energy use.
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Switch Off Unused Appliances
While this is something everyone can do at all times of the year, it’s all the more important to be power savvy when you know you will be using extra power in order to stay warm. Many electrical appliances continue to use power even when they are not in use, especially if they have a standby mode. These items usually include television sets, DVD players, microwaves and gaming consoles. If there is an appliance that isn’t in use, make sure you turn it off at the power point to stop it from drawing power and costing you money.
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Love Your Electric Blanket
While the initial outlay may seem expensive, using an electric blanket to keep warm throughout the night is rather cost-effective. The average electric blanket costs approximately 4 cents per hour to run, which is more cost-effective than most bedroom air conditioners.
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Be Water Wise!
Keep showers short and be conscious of what time you are using warm water for chores such as clothes washing and dishes. The cost of heating water will vary depending on the time of the day, according to your energy plan, so try to time showers and washing with your lowest tariff times.
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Layer Up
While it may be tempting to crank up the heater and stroll around the house barefoot and in a T-shirt, Winter is the perfect time to really enjoy ‘rugging up’. You will discover that by wearing some extra layers you won’t feel the need to heat your house to such extremes, thus saving money on energy consumption! Some comfy slippers or Ugg boots, a jumper and even a beanie will have you feeling warm in next to no time!
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Shop Around
Most people accept that price hikes are a fact of life and don’t bother comparing with other companies when their energy rates rise. Shop around for a better deal, making sure the rates and tariffs suit your energy consumption. For example, if you work away from home and use most of your power at night time, make your plan offers you the best rates for these times.
In Summary
Being smart about the way your household uses power is an easy and rewarding way to save money, especially when it comes to those pesky Winter power bills. No-one should have to go cold just to save a few dollars, so these simple tips will help you and your family to stay warm through Winter all while saving money!
Also remember that by keeping your body warm, you will rely far less on electricity to heat up the room you are in. Follow the 10 Smart Ways To Stay Warm In Winter to make the most of your own body heat during the cold Winter months.