Energy Bills Advice
How to Save Money?

With the increasing cost of energy, it is the right time to get energy bills advice and to save money by using residential energy more efficiently.

Reap the lowest hanging fruit first; the most rewarding and fastest return on investment will happen by implementing simple energy conservation tips that do not degrade the standard of life you are used to

Observation Is Your First Step

Your first step is to find out how much energy in KW-Hour (electricity consumption) and British Thermal Units BTU (from burning fossils) is consumed by each energy usage.

For most family homes the most energy hungry applications are:

• Home heating during the winter and home cooling during the summer months
• Water heating
• Indoor and outdoor lighting
• Appliances: Refrigerator, Dish Washer, Washing Machine, Drying Machine
• The family cars

Energy Conservation Tips

There are specific energy bills advice tips for each of the above potential energy waste centers:

• Heating and Cooling: check how efficient is your home insulation and request the services of home energy auditor if necessary. After you’ve improved the not optimally insulated building elements such as windows, doors, cellars, attic and walls see whether it is the right time to replace the furnace to a smaller more efficient one and/or the air conditioners to more efficient ones. The most efficient air-conditioners are the air-conditioners using the inverter technology
• Water heating: invest in a solar hot water heater, this can cut your energy expenses by 25%
• Lighting: replace the incandescent bulbs with CFL bulbs and LED bulbs
• Appliances: Refrigerator, Dish Washer, Washing Machine, Drying Machine : replace older appliances to newer Energy Star Labeled appliances. Operate the Dish Washer, Washing Machine, Dryer over night if the night tariff is cheaper
• The family car: use car pooling, replace your car with an hybrid car or electric car, avoid unnecessary trips

Implementing this energy bills advice can save you a lot. Consider energy conservation before you invest in residential solar power generation .

The cost of installing solar energy devices is still high so the payback time might take years (even with the generous energy tax credits), while some energy conservation measures pay back time is shorter than few years or even as short as few months. Once you made the decision to invest in solar power, shop wisely for cheap solar power components and systems. Take advantage of the IRS and states energy tax credit on solar water heating and solar power generation and the 1500 energy tax credit on windows, doors and efficient furnaces.