While you often can’t do much about the size of your property taxes or mortgage payments, you can definitely do something about your other expenses: water, electricity, and gas!
No one likes utility bills, so it’s time to cut them down or even get rid of them if we can. This often requires an upfront investment into your home, so start saving now, or get a loan and put your monthly savings towards paying it off. Those who tend to have difficulties to get loans in Montreal have other options to explore when making these worthwhile investments.
Air Seal Your Home
Whether your home is heated by water radiators, natural gas, electricity, or is being cooled by an A/C unit in the summer, keep the climate control IN your home is essential. There’s no point heating or cooling the outdoors – that’s simply lost money. Seal all your windows and doors which you can feel a draft from, either with weather stripping or caulking. In the winter, you can use special shrink plastic on old windows to keep the cold from coming in.
Replace Old Windows
Whilst sealing windows shut can be a temporary solution to save money on the energy bills, it’s not a long-term solution. If your old windows are causing cold drafts, it’s likely that you’re having to put the heating on higher. This can cost you money. Instead, it might be worth replacing those old windows with some new energy-efficient windows. Perhaps this Boone Window company could be contacted to install these new windows. Hopefully, this will help you to save money on energy bills.
Insulate
Insulation works hand in hand with air sealing on keeping all your climate control methods effective, whether heating or cooling. The main culprits include the attic, the basement, and the windows. There are many options on the market that are easy to install and are extremely effective in keeping your costs down. An energy auditor will be able to tell you what you should address first and would bring the greatest savings. Along with insulation, you may also have to check the effectiveness of your heating and cooling system. The more effective the HVAC system is, the less amount of energy it will use to maintain the room temperature. Moreover, you can regularly get air vents, ducts, air filters, compressors, etc., repaired to get the full benefit of the HVAC system. You could hire a specialist through websites equivalent to https://brookshvac.com/.
Energy Star Appliances
Large appliances like refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, stoves, and more can take a lot of power to operate. As your finances allow, replace old electricity sucking versions with new energy star rated ones that run on much less power while still doing their job well. You can contact your local HVAC expert, perhaps ones similar to Sirius Plumbing and Air Conditioning for AC services in Addison, for help installing new appliances like A/C units and heating systems.
Sustainable Energy Sources
You might want to think about installing solar panels on your roof or adding a small wind turbine to cover some of your electricity needs. Start by checking out the local policies and programs related to green energy for households. Then, reach out to a company that offers solar panel installation and electrical services to have the panels installed in your home. This could make you more self-sufficient when it comes to energy and, in some cases, you might even be able to sell any surplus electricity you generate back to the electricity department.
Of course, before you make any large investments, make sure that you have a good understanding of any rebates, grants, and programs available to you. This can make your initial investment even smaller and the impact larger.