Tag Archives: Energy Bill

Saving Energy and Money With Effective Heating and Air Conditioning

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Did you know that heating and air conditioning can make up for half of your total energy bill? That’s a lot of money and a lot of energy use. If your heating and air aren’t working properly they can’t effectively use that energy and that costs you money and sends more greenhouse gases into the environment. Below we will list a few ways you can keep your energy bill low and your heating and air systems running smoothly and efficiently.

Limit Use

Use the seasons to your advantage and limit your use of heating and AC. Close your blinds in the summer to keep the sun from working against your air conditioning and open the curtains in the winter time to have the sun help your heating.

Consider if your thermostat has a feature that can be set on a timer so you can limit the use of your heating and air conditioner when no one is in the house or at night. These seem like simple things but they can reduce your costs significantly when done regularly.

Regular Maintenance

Don’t forget to do regular maintenance to ensure your HVAC system is working efficiently. Simple things like changing you air filters can make a huge impact on how well your heating and air conditioning runs. Have a professional come at least once a year to check for any problems you may miss and ensure everything is OK.

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Your contractor should measure the voltage of your motors and tighten electrical connections. They should also check for drainage that may cause water damage to your home. These regular check ups also ensure your systems are running properly and safely.

Sealing Ducts and Leaks

Ducts are responsible for distributing the air around your home. However, about 20 percent of air is lost through leaks and poorly connected ducts. This means you’ll be pumping up the AC to no affect and losing money in the process.

Sealing leaks that are visible in the attack, crawl space, or basement of your home is as easy as buying a sealant or tape meant for insulating your ducts. Check for and seal any visible leaks or poor connections. If you prefer to stay away from dirty attics or crawl spaces a contractor can easily do this for you as well.

Insulation

Insulating your home can save you up to 10 percent on your annual energy bill and make your home comfortable all year long. The attic is an ideal place to add insulation to your home and when done correctly can save the most money and energy. Also consider your windows and doors.

Heating and cooling can easily escape through old doors and windows making your system inefficient. Have a contractor look at these places in your home and see if they can help insulate your home so it can run comfortably.

These are just a few examples of ways you can make your home more energy efficient thus saving your wallet and giving a little help to the environment. Find a contractor like Empire HVAC that can look at your home and determine the best route for your house. Different systems have different needs and a professional can tell you everything your house needs to keep you comfortable, regardless of weather  conditions.

Finding the Most Affordable Electricity Supplier

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Have you recently checked out your energy tariffs? If not, then you need to be paying more attention to it now. Keep in mind that your energy bill doesn’t merely indicate or show how much energy you consume.

Take note that your postcode plays an essential role in tracking down how much you pay. According to your region, energy providers charge different rates, although they’re offering the same service. Even if there’s hardly anything you can do about price variations, you can look for the most affordable electricity provider in your region and ensure you are on the optimal tariff.

To save on your energy bill, it might be time to switch to a new supplier. For a little help, here’s how you can find one.

Compare Energy Prices

To analyze all the tariffs for every region as well as the payment method to discover the most inexpensive electricity supplier near you, you can leverage many online services such as the Compare Texas Electricity Rates, Prices & Plans at Eligo Energy.

To start, you need to register online your postcode or zipcode and information about your usage, tariff, and energy supplier. Once you’re done, you can compare deals throughout the market and get the best offer possible.

Keep in mind that aside from ensuring you are on the best available energy deal, you can keep electricity and gas bills to a minimum by making sure that your home is energy efficient. There are short-term measures to save energy that includes;

  • Using low-consumption bulbs.
  • Lowering down your thermostat by one degree.
  • When using an electric kettle, it is wise only to heat as much water.
  • Choose draught-proof doors and windows to cut down heat loss.
  • Turn off standby electrical items.

What’s more, there are long-term measures to save energy that includes;

  • Installing a condensing boiler.
  • Proper insulation.
  • Installing cavity wall insulation.
  • Purchasing energy-efficient electrical items.

Switching Incentives and Refer-A-Friend

A lot of energy providers are now presenting or providing financial rewards for shifting to them. And it includes refer-a-friend deals. So, if you are invited to switch energy providers through a refer-a-friend scheme, ensure you check and examine the following:

  • Customer service
  • Exit fees
  • Attached conditions to the switching incentive
  • Price compared to other deals
  • Price of the tariff

Variable Vs. Fixed Energy Tariffs

More often than not, energy deals arrive in two types: variable and fixed. The question now is, which is best for you? Variable tariffs can alter in price every time your energy provider changes its rates. The default tariff of your supplier will typically be a variable deal.

That said, if you are committed to an energy provider for a couple of years, or did not change after your fixed tariff ended, it is likely that you are on its default tariff. Take note that default tariffs are liable to a price cap, which is a cap on the price for every energy unit, not on your total bill.

Even so, a few small energy suppliers provide variable tariffs that are more affordable compared to large suppliers. Although they can alter their rates too, these suppliers are surely worth considering, especially if you want to pay less without a fixed contract.

On the other hand, fixed tariffs settle the amount you pay for every energy unit you consume for the particular period. Meaning, you know the price beforehand, and it will not increase throughout the contract period. Therefore, if the energy provider increases its prices, yours won’t. However, you will not benefit if the prices decrease, either.

Which is more affordable between the two? Well, the most inexpensive deals out there tend to be a combination of variable and fixed. As such, it is not easy to choose between the two.

Avoiding Exit Fees

Before you even decide to change the energy provider, be sure to check the agreements or terms of your deal. If you choose to withdraw a fixed tariff before your contract ends, you might have to pay an exit fee.

However, do not let this dismay you because not all fixed-term deals include exit fees. So, if you switch, better choose one without exit fees. Also, your energy provider cannot charge an exit fee if you shift provider in the last forty-nine days of your term. Moreover, if you are moving home, you don’t need to pay exit fees.

Takeaway

If you have switched energy providers, there are a few things you can do to ensure that your bills are accurate. You can send your meter readings to your provider to ensure you are being billed only for what you consume. Aside from this, you can ask for a refund if you are unduly in credit. Also, be sure to determine the end date of your fixed-term tariff before you switch to a new deal so that you won’t be moved to a default tariff.

Easy Ways to Make Your Business Energy Efficient

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Nowadays, smart business owners are taking steps towards making their company more efficient in every way. By establishing more efficient processes, these businesses are capable of getting more done in a shorter amount of time, and they’re also saving money along the way. But, beyond helping their employees perform better, business pros are also working on implementing tools and strategies for becoming increasingly more energy efficient so that their business can be greener and so that they can save money on their energy bill.

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If you are ready to take your basic eco-friendly office to the next level, keep reading for some helpful information on how to become more energy efficient at work.

Make the Switch to Laptops

Desktop computers that are always plugged in are always consuming some level of energy, even when they are turned off. Unless you have all of your electronics plugged into a power strip that is turned off at the end of every workday, those devices will continue draining energy, and you will see it on your energy bill. For this reason, a lot of businesses are opting to make the switch to using laptops rather than desktops.

Laptops only need to be plugged in when they are in need of a charge; the rest of the time, they use a built-in battery to function. This can help you save quite a bit of money on your energy bill, and it can also help you save much-needed space because laptops are smaller than desktop computers with separate monitors. This is one of the easiest ways to make your office more energy efficient, and your employees will likely welcome the change to laptops as well.

Purchase Products Having Energy Star Seal

Another way to save money on your energy bill while making your office more energy efficient is by switching to Energy Star appliances and office products that will use up far less energy than their counterparts. Properly dispose of old appliances, such as your office’s refrigerator and microwave, and replace them with Energy Star appliances so that you can start to save money and allocate it towards more important aspects of your day-to-day operations.

Beyond appliances, office products like printers, scanners, copiers, and computers can also come with the Energy Star seal, so be sure to stick with those as well. Because you use these products every day, and for hours on end, making the switch to energy efficient office equipment is wise.

Get Smart About Lighting

Another way to become more energy efficient at work is by focusing on the lighting throughout your office. It is important to replace outdated light bulbs that are less efficient than modern options. So, for example, you could replace incandescent light bulbs with LED bulbs, which do not contain the harmful mercury that compact fluorescent light bulbs contain. Beyond that, you can check to see if there are any light fixtures that you do not really need to have in place after all. Plus, simply turning the lights off when you leave a room can be a great way to save money really easily.

You can even opt to install light fixtures that use sensors to determine when there are people in a room, thereby allowing the lights to turn on and off automatically. And, finally, whenever possible, take advantage of natural light during the day so that you can rely less upon artificial, energy-consuming light.

Keep Your Staff Comfortable, but Save Money Too

What temperature is your office thermostat currently set to? Do you think that you can maybe tweak the temperature a bit so that you could save money, while also keeping everyone comfortable? Many times, office thermostats are set at temperatures that end up costing the business a lot of money. Small changes in temperature can make a big difference in your energy savings, but your staff are not likely to notice the changes because they will still feel comfortable while they work.

For example, you can save money during the summer by setting the thermostat to 78-80°F. When the workday is over, you can allow the office to reach 80°F because no one will be there anyway, so you don’t need to bother keeping the air conditioner going. In the winter, on the other hand, you can keep your thermostat set anywhere from 65-68°F, and you can let it drop to 60°F overnight when no one is in the office. Go ahead and change the temperature setting by a degree or two for a month to see how much you can save.

Conclusion

It is pretty clear to see that it is very important to become more energy efficient at work. The first step involves setting up an eco-friendly office. But, once you have set the foundation, you can go even further by becoming energy efficient for the planet and for your bottom line.