Reducing consumption 1

One way to cut on your bills is to reduce consumption. Start by looking at utilities. As with anything else, small changes can add up to more than you might think. Most of these are commonly known, but listing them together can help think of new things.

• Turn off lights when you aren't in the room
• Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents wherever possible
• Turn the thermostat for the AC up a couple of degrees or the heat down a couple of degrees when you're going to be out of the house for more than a couple of hours. I'm not always good about this with the AC because our unit can struggle to bring the temperature back down
• Turn the thermostat up or down more when going out of town for a day or two
• Take advantage of natural light in rooms. 
• Mirrors can reflect light and make a dark room brighter (any other fans of the Mummy movies?)
• Reduce the cost of outdoor lighting by installing solar path lights
• Put heavy drapes on windows to keep heat in or out (depending on the climate and time of year)
• If you can't afford to replace weather stripping, make draught extruders (basically a tube filled with some insulating material that you put against the bottom of the door).
• Change the air filter on central heating and cooling units
• Clean the outside unit for central heating and cooling units, especially after mowing

Continued tomorrow...