Changing Habits & Switching Appliances to Cut Your Utility Bills

Hello everyone. Now that it's heating up outdoors, many of you will be cranking up the air conditioning inside. So how can you balance that extra energy usage and lower your electricity bill during the summer? Believe it or not, behavior can play a huge part in reducing your costs.  How many of you have kids that leave the television on all night?  A few months back, a friend asked us to feed his cat while he and his family were out of town.  This friend had complained of several hundred dollar electric bills and I knew the source as soon as I walked into the home.  Five incandescent lights had been left on.  The air conditioner was still set at regular settings.  There were three ceiling fans running and there was even a small radio playing.  While all of us rush to get out the door at times, it's important to communicate to everyone in the family that turning off lights and appliances is a must if you want to save energy.

Another way to save energy is to upgrade to more efficient appliances. Look inside your refrigerator and see if the tag shows the date of manufacture.  If that fridge is ten years old or more, you should consider buying a new Energy Star rated model. Ones with a top freezer and without a door ice-maker are the most efficient. Since the end of March, it has been a bit more affordable to upgrade. South Carolina has been doling out $3.9 million in federal funds for people to trade in energy-hogging, older appliances. You can save $50 on refrigerators, dishwashers and single-room air conditioning units. Clothes washers will be discounted $100. Central air units have a $200 rebate. The biggest rebate is $500 for heat pumps and gas furnaces and there's a range of rebates on different types of water heaters. The rebate will be applied at the register and will be available until the money runs out, which will be soon. On May 19th, the Charleston Regional Business Journal reported that there is only about $22,000 left for the program statewide.

As part of our comprehensive energy audit, we actually measure your refrigerator's electric consumption and research each one of your other home appliance's energy efficiency, so you know just how cost effective replacing them can be. So give us a call anytime for your energy savings needs!