Becoming more eco-friendly is more than just fad or trend for homeowners these days; the rising costs of energy, water, and other utilities have created a need to reduce consumption in order to save money. To fill this need, a number of different companies have started selling products designed to help homeowners save money on their utility bills. Whether it’s reducing your water consumption, saving electricity, or keeping your home comfortable, check out these five valuable tips and learn more about how they can save you a bundle of cash as well as preserve the planet’s valuable resources!
Fix Leaky Taps & Fixtures
That that slow drip in your faucet isn’t a big deal? You could be extremely wrong. According to the EPA, one out of every ten homes in the United States has a leak that wastes 90 gallons of water or more per day, and the average household can leak more than 10,000 gallons of water per year. That’s a lot of water, which is a particularly precious resource here in California. Call a Glendale plumber and get that leak fixed: the short term cost will be dramatically outweighed by the savings on your water bill in almost no time at all.
Install a Low-Flow Toilet
Believe it or not, your toilet use consumes a huge chunk of your home’s water. In fact, that number is as high as 30 percent according to some estimates. This means installing a low-flow toilet, which uses less water to perform the same flushing job, or a variable toilet valve, which allows you to select the type of flush based on the waste, could help you save a bundle on your water bill. Older toilets or high-pressure systems frequently use far more water than necessary, which actually could put an extra strain on your plumbing as well as drive up your monthly water costs.
Install Faucet Aerators
An aerator is a small fine-mesh screen that is placed on a faucet which diffuses the water stream by evening it out, making it a uniform shape, and giving it the illusion of more pressure. They also can help you save a lot on your water bills by reducing the water flow significantly. If you don’t have a diffuser on one or more of the faucets in your home, you should consider picking one up from your local home improvement store for just a few dollars. You could see a sizeable benefit on your very next water bill.
Insulate & Ventilate Your Attic
Your roof takes a beating from the sun throughout the year, and during summer, that abuse also carries a lot of heat. This makes your attic extraordinarily hot, and without proper ventilation, that hot air will only sit stagnant in your attic, providing a giant heat bubble above the rest of your home. Poor ventilation actually can make your air conditioning system less effective simply because it will constantly be battling against your attic for the ability to cool off the air. Have an HVAC professional check your attic for ventilation to make sure enough air is able to flow through and escape your attic if necessary. Likewise, consider installing additional insulation between your attic and your home to keep the cool air where it needs to be and the hot, sticky air in your attic out of the rest of your house.
Install a Programmable or Smart Thermostat
Over half of the energy consumed in the average home is used on central heating and cooling systems, which means this is arguably your single largest utility expense as a homeowner each year. You can cut down on the amount you’re spending each month with one simple purchase: a programmable thermostat. Programmable thermostats can be set up to shut off when you leave every day for work and then turn on again just before you get back so you arrive to a cool and comfortable home. Smart thermostats take things a step further by both tracking how much energy you consume, and some models even “learn” your heating and cooling habits so you almost never have to touch it to change the temperature again. Many can also be controlled from your smart phone!
Want to know more about the ways you can make your home environmentally-conscious and budget-friendly? Ask our Glendale plumbers about the upgrades we can offer! Call Moe Plumbing Services today at (818) 396-8002 to schedule a service or get a quote for your plumbing needs.