Energy saving tips: reduce your winter bills

For many, winter is bitterly cold and can be expensive too. Follow these home heating and energy tips to stay warm, while saving on your energy costs!

We found 5 great tips on how to keep warm, and keep your energy use down:

1. Change the settings on your thermostat

While you’re out of the house during the day, set your thermostat no higher than 20 degrees Celsius, or 68 degrees Fahrenheit. While you’re sleeping it’s best to set the thermostat to 13 degrees Celsius or 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Adjust the temperature on your hot water heater

Who doesn’t enjoy a nice hot shower on a cold winter day? However, the default temperature setting on many tanks is too hot. The recommended temperature for your hot water tank is anywhere between 49 degrees Celsius and 54 degrees Celsius, or 120 degrees Fahrenheit to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. At a slightly lower temperature you can still enjoy a nice shower while reducing your energy use.

3. Reduce your shower length

Take a six minute shower. Most showers are an average of 8 minutes, by reducing your shower by a couple of minutes you can make a huge difference to your bottom line.

4. Replace your old light bulbs with LEDs

During the darker days of winter, we’re often using a lot more of our household lights. LEDs use up to 95 per cent less energy to deliver the same amount of light as a regular bulb.

5. Close the flue!

Wood burning fireplaces are the stars of many a winter get together. Make sure to keep your home’s heat in when the fireplace is not in use by closing the flue tightly. This will prevent your home’s warm air from escaping and driving up your energy costs.

Do you have any energy savings tips that you use during the winter? Be sure to share them with us through our Twitter and Facebook page!

Check back next month when we look at why saving energy helps the environment.

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