How To Save Money On Electricity In Winter

1 Comment

As temperature cool down, the quest to save money on electricity in winter kicks into high gear. With temperatures dropping, energy expenses tend to rise as heaters and lights work overtime. But worry not! This blog unveils actionable strategies to curtail winter electricity costs without sacrificing warmth and comfort. From smart home tweaks to adopting energy-efficient habits, you’ll gain valuable insights to navigate the season while keeping your budget intact.

Woman opening up the curtains to save money on her electricity bill in winter

Use Natural Sunlight – Save Money on Electricity in the Winter

This one is so simple! Use natural sunlight! The sun might be taking shorter shifts, but its power to illuminate your home while keeping it warm is unmatched. Open your curtains during the day and let solar radiation flood your home. In doing so, the sunlight can warm the objects in your home. Then, at night, close the curtains to create insulation and prevent the warmth from radiating away. You should find that this strategy keeps your rooms warmer by a couple of degrees.

Create More Reflective Surfaces

Mirrors aren’t just for checking your winter attire – they can also play a role in optimizing your home’s energy efficiency. Placing mirrors strategically across from windows allows them to bounce natural sunlight deeper into your living spaces, effectively extending the sun’s reach. This brightens up your home naturally and reduces the need for artificial lighting, ultimately helping you save money on electricity in winter. These also bounce light energy back into the interior space, helping it to warm up even more. Mirrors, mirrored furniture, or even foil sheeting for insulation are excellent for this purpose.

A woman replacing a lightbulb to LEDs in her kitchen

Use Energy-Efficient Lighting and Appliances

This tip is generally more for those who have an older home or outdated appliances. Trade your old incandescent bulbs for longer-lasting and energy-saving LED or CFL options. Although they might cost a bit more initially, their reduced energy consumption will translate to noticeable savings on your electricity bill. Additionally, these bulbs emit less heat, reducing the load on your heating system. Brighten up your winter while keeping costs down with these illuminating choices.

Modern appliances are also considerably more cost-effective than older versions. Even some of those produced in the last ten years! Manufacturers have become much better and are creating units that use energy frugally. Similar to upgrading your lightbulbs, it may still cost more upfront. However, you will save money on electricity month after month and year after year!

Save money on your electricity bill in winter by using solar panels

Use Renewable Energy – Save Money on Electricity in the Winter

You can also try investing in renewable energy, even if you live somewhere cold. Temperate regions often have consistent winds, especially near the coast. But even if the weather isn’t hot, you should still consider solar panels. Units work by absorbing light which still hits the Earth even when it’s cold or cloudy outside. 

You can use a solar panels cost calculator to work out how much the installation is likely to cost, and what it could potentially save you. The amount of money you get off can be quite considerable if you get it right. 

Cook More Efficiently

Another good idea is to use your oven’s heat to heat your home. Plan your cooking around the times of day when you need residual heat the most. For instance, start cooking at 6 PM. Then use the heat from your oven to warm up your dining and living areas until 10 PM when you go to sleep. Once you start doing this, you may find that you don’t need to put the heat on as much, if at all. 

Use Ceiling Fans – Save Money on Electricity in the Winter

The idea of using ceiling fans in cold climates sounds a little weird, but it works! Set your fan’s blades to rotate clockwise at a low speed. This simple switch helps push warm air down from the ceiling, evenly distributing heat throughout the room. With this clever move, you’ll stay cozy without maxing out the thermostat. This is a surefire way to save money on electricity during winter.

Final Thoughts

As winter wraps its frosty embrace around us, remember that saving money on electricity doesn’t mean sacrificing comfort. You can lower your bill easily! By embracing these tips and tricks, you can keep both your home and your budget cozy throughout the season.

Energy Saving Tips to Lower Your Bill

1 Comment

Homes are energy hogs. Sadly most are energy intensive and not set up for efficient heating and cooling methods. Although you can upgrade your current home to include more energy efficient features and appliances, that requires a lot of time and money. But there is a better way! You can use multiple energy saving tips to lower your bill that won’t burn a whole in your pocket. So where can you begin?

Service and repair broken appliances

Old, broken, or inadequately maintained appliances will consume more energy to function properly. As such, this puts more pressure on the appliance itself. Not only that, but this energy usage drives up your bills and increases the risk of more damage, or even failure. Carrying out regular service maintenance can minimize damage, lower repair bills, and keep your energy bills down. And it’s a hell of a lot cheaper to schedule regular maintenance than it is to replace an entire appliance because it failed. Things to consider getting checked are:

  • schedule HVAC repairs annually
  • have your dryer vents cleaned periodically
  • get regular roof inspections

These are just a few of the most common things to look out for!

Use Energy Star products – an energy saving tip

Now not every appliance is capable of being salvaged from a repair or regular maintenance. When that happens, you’ll need to invest in something a little more up to date. When you are looking to upgrade your appliances, look for those with the Energy Star Rating. To earn an energy star rating, the appliance must meet a strict set of criteria set out by the US Environmental Protection Agency or the US Department of Energy. This means you can guarantee they are more energy efficient to use, saving you both money and energy!

An easy energy saving tip is to insulate your home and prevent drafts

Insulate your home

You can insulate many parts of your home to help you regulate energy and lower your energy bill. The most common type of insulation is cavity insulation in roofing spaces. While this is a highly effective manner of insulating your home and one of the biggest energy saving tips, it isn’t your only option. You can insulate walls, floors, pipes, tanks, and even ducts. You can also draft-proof windows and doors to eliminate energy, escaping to lower your usage and bills too. A third of your energy is lost through inefficient wall options, so investing in wall insulation can be an excellent investment, along with draft proofing and loft insulation to help you cover as many bases as possible.

Switching to LED Lighting is an easy energy saving tip

Homeowners and renters alike can save over $200 per year by switching from incandescent lighting to energy-saving LED bulbs. LED bulbs are not only better for the environment and consume less energy, but they also last longer. This means you don’t have to worry about replacing them so frequently, making them more economical. For example, the ones that we just switched to in our home are good for 20 years! For someone with tall ceilings like we do, I don’t want to climb up there to constantly change them out. This recommendation is one of the easiest and most common energy saving tip.

Unplugging unused appliances will help you lower your energy bill

Have a “Turn It Off” mindset

If you think that keeping appliances plugged in doesn’t use energy, I’m sorry but you are wrong. Keeping unused appliances plugged in and switched on costs around $165 per year per household. If you find your energy bills are rising and you need to save money and reduce your usage, then ensure all unused outlets are turned off and unused appliances and devices are unplugged. The most common culprit is cell phone chargers. They can commonly be left plugged in and switched on for convenience. Not only does this damage your bank account, but the charger itself.

Lady switching off a light switch as an easy energy saving tip

Use OhmConnect to get rewarded

This tips goes hand in hand with the tip above. There are reward programs for quite literally anything nowadays. Saving energy is no exception to this rule! OhmConnect connects directly to your energy provider, tracks your energy usage, and gives you opportunities through Ohm Hours to get rewarded. Be aware though, not every person has an eligible energy provider to connect.

Ohm Hours happen frequently – especially during the summer. You will be alerted via email and/or text message for these Ohm Hours. In the message, they will tell you the date, time, and how much you could earn by reducing your energy during that time period. You are encouraged to turn off the AC, unplug unused appliances, and use this time to be as off the grid as possible. After a few days, your progress will be recorded and your reward will be given. You can use your rewards to cash out for your favorite brand giftcards or to cash out directly to PayPal. OhmConnect is a great way to save money both by lowering your energy bill and getting rewarded for doing it.

Use these energy saving tips regularly!

To conserve energy and reduce your usage, you can do many different things – from free actions such as turning off appliances to massive home renovations, to updating insulation and buying new appliances. But whatever you do, make sure you are making beneficial changes to see the savings add up!

How to improve the energy efficiency of an older home

How To Improve Energy Efficiency in an Older House

3 Comments

With newly built homes, energy efficiency is now considered one of the most important features. But older homes simply don’t have the same energy-saving features that we do now. That being said, if you live in an older house, you may be used to paying higher utility bills. This doesn’t have to be the case anymore! There is a range of things that you can do to make your older home more energy efficient and save on your pnm bill. Here are some of the simple things you can do to improve the energy efficiency of an older house.

Woman replacing old lightbulbs with LEDs

Replace your light bulbs to improve energy efficiency

This is one of the easiest and most affordable things you can do to make your home more energy-efficient. If you are still using the older style light bulbs, swap them out with modern LED lights. These can save up to six times as much energy. Not to mention, they won’t give off as much heat. This will also help to keep your home nice and cool, especially in the summer.

You could also add a new lighting system to your home. By installing things like motion sensor switches, you can make sure that the lights are turned off if the room is empty without having to think about it. You can also get systems that allow you to control your lighting from a smartphone app. This means you can turn your lights off if you forgot to do so before more. Or you can even turn your lights on when you aren’t home at night to deter robbers.

OhmConnect sign-up

Hook your energy utility service up to OhmConnect

OhmConnect is a free service that rewards you with giftcards or PayPal cashouts simply by reducing your energy usage. Once you hook your utility service up to OhmConnect, it automatically tracks what you save. After that, Ohm will start sending you Ohm Hour alerts. These alerts are Ohm’s way of trying to reduce the energy usage during certain peak times. You will earn “Watts” for how much energy you save during these Ohm hours which can be used to redeem rewards. During the summer, you can expect to see an Ohm Hour a few times a week – making it super easy to rack up rewards quickly. Last summer, I cashed out $75 in one month because of the energy I saved. It’s kind of a win-win honestly. You’re reducing your energy bill AND getting rewarded for it.

Replace showers, faucets, and toilets

Older toilets use a lot more water each time you flush them than more modern ones. You may also have leaky faucets and shower heads in an older home. These are all fairly simple and affordable to replace, and modern low-flow toilets can significantly reduce the amount of water that you use.

Solar power on a house can greatly improve the energy efficiency of your home

Look at alternative sources of energy to improve energy efficiency

While these cost more upfront, alternative sources of energy can save you big money in the long run. By switching to geothermal, wind, or solar energy, you will reduce your energy bill significantly. Of course, where you live plays a big part in the type of alternative energy that is best for you. But it is a great thing to do for both the environment and your bank account.

Fix gaps and leaks in windows and doors or replace them

In many households, windows and doors are the biggest sources of leaked air. Many older houses have the original single pane windows, or older versions of double-glazing, which are pretty ineffective at keeping air in. Older wooden doors also tend to warp and shrink because of humidity and fluctuating temperatures. The drafts caused by this will make it incredibly cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Swapping these out for new, more energy-efficient windows and doors will make your improve the energy efficiency of your older home.

As well as saving you money, making energy-efficient changes to your older house also reduces the impact that you have on the environment. It will also greatly increase the value of your home as a whole!

Evercool from Rest Duvet coupon code

Does Evercool Really Work For Hot Sleepers?

5 Comments

Like Rob Thomas sang in “Smooth” by Santana, man it’s a HOT one! Now that my husband and I own our own condo, we needed an efficient way to cool ourselves at night. And turning the AC way down was not the solution. A cooling comforter was! Specifically the Evercool Cooling Comforter from Rest Duvet. But does Evercool really work?

Pro tip: Use the coupon code DGB5 for 30% off on Rest Duvet. This is an affiliate code that will allow me to make a small commission from the sale.

Links on this page lead to RestDuvet.com via my affiliate links.

Ad

About Evercool

Before we even got the Evercool, I had even wondered if cooling comforters even exist. But boy do they! We recently got the Evercool cooling comforter from Rest. Shockingly enough, it has only been available for close to a year now. Since then, it has already been recommended by Healthline and Goodhousekeeping as one of the best cooling comforters of 2023! Based on those two recommendations alone, I was convinced it could help my husband not be a hot sleeper anymore. Honestly he radiates heat and always wants to cuddle me. I love him to pieces but my goodness I cannot stand how hot he makes our bed feel.

Just upon opening the package, we were both shocked at how cool it actually was. It felt like it had just been taken out of the fridge. It is cooler than cotton, bamboo, silk, and Tencel! Not only that, but it was super soft.

And if you think that was all it was good for, there’s more! It’s also got three times the moisture wicking power compared to regular comforters. Hand in hand with that is that it is quick-drying making caring and washing it a breeze. Needless to say, we were excited to see if it lived up to it’s hype. So.. does Evercool really work for hot sleepers?

Evercool cooling comforter from Rest Duvet

Our Trial Run

Our previous solution for hot nights was to swap out our thick comforter for a thin blanket. Although that was a better solution than keeping the thick comforter, it still didn’t help as much. We immediately put Evercool on our bed and kept all of our sleeping habits exactly the same. Same bamboo sheets, same amount of pillows on the bed, and the AC set to 76 degrees.

Hopping in to bed for the first time, it still felt like the comforter was just cold on its own. Both my husband and I slept great that night. I didn’t feel like the bed was overheating because of him being a hot sleeper. I also felt like I had uninterrupted sleep because I wasn’t waking up from being hot.

After trying it for a week, I don’t think my husband wants to go back to any other blanket. He likes to say that he’s a little “cold burrito” when he’s wrapped up in Evercool. And for me, on some nights I felt like it did TOO good of a job and I had to rely on getting another blanket to warm me back up! But I run pretty cold as it is (my husband hates it when I touch him with my cold feet and hands). As an added bonus, our husky also likes taking his naps on our comforter now too, and that’s not something he normally does.

Overall Thoughts about Evercool Cooling Comforter

I would definitely recommend using Evercool to others if you want to sleep less hot, have less night sweat, less waking up due to overheating, or just want to lower your AC bill. And if that bright blue color that Evercool is known for isn’t your bedroom aesthetic, they just released a brand new grey color! In short, yes Evercool really works.

Get 30% off of the most effective cooling comforters – the Evercool Cooling Comforter from Rest Duvet! This coupon code is the highest verified discount and is ONLY available to readers here. The link provided will give you 30% off on anything on Rest Duvet. PLEASE NOTE: The code will be automatically applied at checkout. You will not see the code applied just be looking at the listing. Once added to your cart, proceed to checkout and you will see the discount applied at the section where you put in your shipping information.

And if you want more honest Rest Duvet reviews, click that link.