In these tough economic times we’re always looking for ways to save money. One place that people can save a lot of money is with their electric bill. Electricity is calculated in watt-hours, or how many watts you use over a given time. The electric company bills you a fixed rate for the use of the electricity. There are couple big ways to save a lot of money each month on electricity. We’ll look at cost saving ideas and a very recent energy development, home solar panels. Through reading this article, I hope to enlighten you and help you save some money.
Most people will tell you they prefer their house to be a mean (average) temperature of around 72°-75° F year round. Some seasons make this job easier. For instance, fall and spring in Michigan average around 75° each season. When the seasons get to their extremes, that is summer and winter, and then it’s the job of the home heating or air conditioning to take off or add to the difference. But, did you know that the average home heating bill is between $100 and $300! The average cooling bill is a little more than that ($125 – gt; $325). Turning your thermostat up or down to make your house warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter will save you around $50 a season. There are of course a couple factors; for instance, homes with a lot of windows will have heating and cooling bills which are astronomically higher than homes with only a few windows. You can also save money with new windows and doors. As I just pointed out, homes with a lot of windows tend to heat up (due to the Greenhouse effect) and cool off quicker than those without, the reason for this is because glass doesn’t facilitate a very good heat barrier to hold heat in. Even simple treatments like window tint can lower your cooling bills.
For those who are able to make an initial investment to save in the long run, you’ll be able to farm your own energy. The price in solar panels has more or less plummeted in recent years due to the economy and more competition. Installing solar panels does require a large amount of batteries for redundancy when the sun is behind clouds or when its night time, but the benefits are awesome! If your solar panel array can produce a surplus of energy, the electric company will pay you for it (in watt-hours), so you can make money and save money at the same time. It’s a double bonus!
Well, I hope you have enjoyed this rather interesting article on home energy. Replacing old windows and making adjustments to home temperature can lead to big cost savings. Coupling those with solar panels can lead to net profit over the long term. I urge everyone to look into alternative energy solutions for your home and wallet!
Article Resource: Benjamin Cance