It’s that time of year that we get to settle down into our couches and cozy blankets, and not feel guilty about it! Maybe you’ve got weekend plans to visit your local pumpkin patch, or perhaps you’re spending your Sunday cheering on the best football team in the league (in your opinion anyways). No matter your plans, fall is a season that brings beautiful colors, crisp breezes, and… increased heating bills!
As nights cool and we spend more time inside our homes, it’s a great opportunity to consider how energy efficient our habits are. Do you like keeping your home at 70 degrees? Did you know that every degree of extra heating (or cooling) can increase your energy usage by 6% to 8%? Kind of makes that cozy blanket more appealing, doesn’t it? Something as simple as cozying up when you get home in a blanket rather than cranking your heat up 2 degrees can save you money! After all, setting your thermostat to a higher temperature won’t warm your home faster.
There are a number of simple things you can do to make your apartment home more energy efficient overall.
Below are 10 tips to achieve just that, and to put more money in your pocket!
1. Unplug chargers when not in use. Chargers that are plugged in continue to draw power even when no device is connected.
2. Change light bulbs to LED. On average, incandescent light bulbs are about 5x more expensive to operate than LED light bulbs. 
3. Take advantage of natural light. Open blinds during the day to aid in heating your home. This can also help decrease humidity and condensation around windows in the winter months.
4. Wash clothes in cold water. An estimated 75% to 90% of the energy your washer uses goes to warming up the water.
5. Set thermostats 1-2 degrees warmer/cooler. As mentioned, every 1 degree of extra heating can increase your energy usage by up to 8%.
6. Clean filters. Most heating units contain a filter. Ensure the filter is clean and free of dust. This includes filters on large appliances. Dirty filters can cause motors to work harder, increasing energy consumption.
7. Unplug phantom electronics. Some electronics suck energy when they’re not in use (like your chargers!). Plug countertop appliances into a surge protector and switch it off at night. Do you work from home? Printers, monitors and computers do the same!
8. Turn off lights. This one is as obvious as it reads.
9. Air dry when possible. This includes dishes, laundry, etc. Air-dry settings use about 15% less energy than heat-dry settings!
10. Limit your shower time. The average showerhead has a water flow of 2.1 gallons per minute. Every additional minute spent in the shower increases your water consumption, and water and energy work together! Increased water=increased energy.
And as a bonus, I’ll give you one last tip: Invest in an energy audit! Your utility provider likely has a professional that can visit your apartment home and tell you where there’s room for improvement and more savings.
See, I said it was simple! Once you implement these tricks you can get back to settling into the couch, binge watching your favorite show and sipping on a warm drink. Cheers to fall and to more money in your pocket for holiday shopping! 😉
