The cost of homeownership can be and is for a majority of homeowners the largest expense they pay. Wise homeowners are always looking for ways to cut the costs of home ownership and retain their money for other things.
One of the most common ways Philadelphia homeowners try to save money is by cutting energy costs. When it comes to cutting energy bills there are some energy-saving myths that actually end up costing homeowners more money than helping them to reap in the savings.
Handwashing Dishes Saves Electricity and Water
There are benefits to handwashing dishes, like getting them truly clean, being able to scrub off any cemented-on crusty food, keeping plastic items from leaching chemicals, and preserving delicate dishes.
However many people have come to believe that handwashing instead of using a dishwasher will save electricity and water. This just isn’t true. A dishwasher can greatly reduce the amount of water used, especially if it is an Energy Star-rated dishwasher. Energy-saving dishwashers can reduce water use by an impressive 8,000 gallons of water in a year.
High-Quality Insulation is Only for Very Cold Climates
The truth is having high-quality insulation in the right places in your home is beneficial to energy savings all year long. The right insulation keeps the air inside your home at the comfortable temperature you want for a longer period of time helping to reduce the amount your HVAC system has to work to keep your home at a certain temperature.
Think of it like a lunch box or cooler. These have insulation and the higher quality ones have better insulation. Like those crazy cups that people went running to Target to fight over. Part of the reason they became so popular was their ability to keep a drink cold or hot. Proper insulation traps the air coming from your HVAC in your home and keeps it at a certain temperature longer.
Only Old Homes Need a Weatherization Check
Weatherization is an important and often overlooked routine maintenance task by homeowners. It is an especially overlooked maintenance task by owners of newer homes. Regardless of a home’s age, it is wise for homeowners to check for air leakage around their home.
Air leakage is air rushing in and out of your home around exterior openings in the structure. This includes every window and all doors that lead outside and to the garage in a home. It can also include attics and crawlspace. Your well-paid for comfortable climate-controlled air is leaking out into the world instead of staying in your home. Experts estimate that about 25% of a home’s energy is lost through air leakage. Including newer homes.
Powering Down Electronics When Not In Use Is Just Overkill
We are a very technology-driven society. The average home has several electronic devices from several televisions to appliances, to computers, and even cell phones and tablets. With the exception of your appliances, powering down items that can go into energy-saving or sleep mode can save more energy than people realize.
Not only does it save a pretty significant amount of energy it can save the usable lifetime of your devices.
Setting the Air Conditioner Super High Cools the House Down Faster
Cranking up the AC in the summer heat or even cranking the heat in the cold of winter will not help a home arrive at a comfortable temperature faster. Your HVAC system heats and cools at the same rate no matter what goal temp you set it to. It will put more strain on the system and cause it to work longer and consume more energy than desired once it reaches that ideal temperature. This is why a programmable smart thermostat is so helpful in a home. You can keep the home comfortable at all hours of the day instead of playing the crank the AC or the heat game.
Clothes Are Only Truly Clean in Warm or Hot Water
A whopping 18% of the average American home’s utility bills are from heating up water. This is the second largest energy expense in a home. For homeowners that are ascribing to the warm water laundry load, they are consuming about 25 gallons of hot water with every load.
Contrary to what many laundry washers have been led to believe, you do not need to wash clothes in warm or hot water to get them clean. Unless your laundry items have a high level of soil, your laundry detergent does just fine at pulling out the germs and refreshing your clothes.
Energy consumption is a big cost of homeownership and using energy-saving tactics can save homeowners hundreds of dollars a year in added housing costs.
If you are considering buying or selling a Philadelphia area home, I am here to help. I am happy to help you discover Philadelphia homes for sale that meet your needs and wants for a home. I am also here for homeowners considering selling their Philadelphia home and hoping to sell for the best price possible. Contact me with any Philadelphia real estate needs.