When it’s time to pay the bills, do you ever find yourself confused as to why you’re spending so much on power? As it turns out, lowering your energy consumption takes a lot more than just remembering to turn lights off.
If you’d like to reduce your power bill every month, it’s important to focus on reducing your hot water consumption. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to do so that don’t lessen your quality of life in any way!
Rethink Your Showering Habits
Everyone loves taking a long, hot shower, whether it’s to unwind after a long day or wake up in the morning. Unfortunately, these luxurious showers can cost you big time on your monthly bill. That doesn’t mean you should stop taking steamy showers entirely, but you may want to consider adjusting your showering habits to save yourself money long-term.
Adjusting your showering habits could be going from three hot showers a week to two or using warm water instead of hot water on occasion. In the end, these changes will save water, save money, and take some pressure off your water heating system.
Use Low-Flow Fixtures
By installing low-flow fixtures to your showerheads and taps, you’ll be reducing the amount of water you waste daily. This tip is especially helpful for those with the bad habit of leaving taps running. Making the effort to turn taps off when you’re not using them is important, and low-flow fixtures will help reduce the cost every time you forget.
Fill Up Your Dishwasher/Washing Machine
Doing small loads of laundry or only filling up your dishwasher halfway can have a significant impact on your power bill. Running your appliances when you don’t have to is a total waste of both water and money.
That’s why you should always wait until you have enough dirty laundry and dishes for full loads. Also, if you’d like to reduce your hot water costs even further, try setting up your laundry machine to use cold water and to run on shorter wash cycles.
Get Leaks Fixed Fast
If you’re trying not to waste water, letting leaks go unfixed is not a good idea. Those little droplets of water that come out of your faucet when it’s turned off may not seem like much, but they can definitely cost you over time.
Minor leaks of one droplet per second cost homeowners approximately $1 each month. If you don’t fix them or call for a professional plumber to fix them, the leaks could become more plentiful, severe, and detrimental to your power bill.
Additionally, use stainless steel tube piping to ensure your waterworks are performing optimally.
Use an Efficient Hot Water System
Different water heaters will affect your power bill in various ways. Older systems, for example, tend to run less efficiently and often require more repairs. This being the case, investing in an updated model and having it installed by a licenced professional may end up saving you money in the long run.
Now that you know more about the factors that affect your monthly power bill, you’ll be able to implement minor changes that reduce your hot water costs. If you hope to see a major reduction, have a house meeting and encourage your housemates to be conscious of their hot water usage.
