As you close the book on summer, prioritizing your household maintenance will lower your utility bills this fall. And with winter just around the corner, the chores you take on now can prime your wallet for an energy-sucking season as you hunker down and crank the heat. Let’s see how fall-time chores can promise serious energy savings.
Why Now is a Good Time to Focus on Your Energy Use
You can always expect to pay a little more as the fall transitions to winter, but this year, a jump in prices might be harder to handle than usual. That’s because energy bills are rising across the country, mostly because the pandemic has caused fuel costs and inflation to balloon.
A steady climb in rates means the usual emergency financial tools aren’t the ideal solution anymore.
In the past, if a sudden, unexpected spike jacked your balance owing for a month, you could take out same-day cash loans online to cover what you couldn’t with your savings. But the online loan experts at MoneyKey don’t recommend borrowing money on recurring bills if they’re always high.
Taking out same-day cash loans online should be an emergency backup for an unexpected spike, like when a leak at your outdoor tap means you’ve been paying for extra, wasted water for an entire month — not when your usual usage is too much for your budget.
For more clarification on when same-day cash loans online are advisable, and when they aren’t, check out Moneykey.com/same-day-online-loans/ to learn about your emergency options. Otherwise, you’ll want to do everything you can to limit your energy usage.
What You Can Do to Lower Your Bills
Follow these tips to offset inevitable price increases and maybe even pay less than you usually do.
1. Buy a New Furnace Filter
Soon enough, you’ll have to turn on your furnace. When you do, make sure you have a new furnace filter. Clogged filters cause your furnace to work harder than it has to, increasing your energy output and promising mechanical errors in your future.
A fresh filter not only purifies the air forced through your HVAC system but also saves up to 15% on your energy bills.
2. Hire a Furnace Technician
Your furnace is like your car in that it benefits from routine maintenance. If you don’t have a lot of savings, the cost of a tune-up may seem like a frivolity, but it can help you take preventative maintenance that saves you from an expensive breakdown (and need same-day cash loans online) in the future.
3. Find and Repair Drafts
You don’t want to go to all the trouble of heating your home only for your windows to let that air escape. So, check all your windows and doors to see if you can find any cracks in the weatherstripping. Filling in the gaps or installing new weatherstripping only costs about $10—15 but it may cut your annual energy costs by 20%.
4. Drain and Store Your Garden Hose
If you live in a place that gets freezing temperatures, check all your outdoor taps to ensure they’re off for the season. Turning these off from the source will stop any leaks from inflating your water bills and prevent costly frozen pipes.
Bottom Line
You can’t escape utility bills from showing up in your mailbox, but you can control how much they cost each month. Remember these tips to help you manage your energy use and save money.
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