You may not realize it but many of the simple electrical appliances in your home are sucking up substantial amounts of electrical power. As a result, you’re paying higher electricity bills and nobody wants that. So, in order to lower your costs, you may want to start tracking down which devices and equipment are the most likely to hog your electricity and make the necessary changes to prevent that from continuing to occur.
But keep in mind, it may not always be an appliance or a system that you use on a routine daily basis. Sometimes you could be dealing with a major malfunction in the form of faulty electrical wiring that is the main culprit of your energy inefficiency. For matters such as these you might want to turn to one of your local electricians Richmond VA.
These are the most significant energy leeches that may be in your home at this very moment.
Electrical Heaters
We’re not really talking about those small space heaters that you plug in next to the bed to keep you warm at night, the electrical heaters that do the most damage to your utility costs are things like electric furnaces, baseboard heaters, and any other contemporary heating systems that don’t rely on fuels such as propane or natural gas.
That’s not to say you can’t rely on electric heating to be a smart solution for your home. You just need to take certain steps to reduce how much electricity your heating system consumes. This includes lowering the setting on your thermostat and maintain your system routinely including the replacement of the air filters. Don’t forget to clean out the vents as well.
Water Heater
The water heater in your home may also be among the biggest energy drains that are impacting your wallet. Water heaters are particularly costly because you’re relying on them throughout the duration of your day, whenever you need warm or hot water. That means using your dishwasher, taking a shower, doing your laundry, or simply washing your hands.
But while you can lower your consumption of hot water you may need to take more concerted efforts to reduce your water heater’s impact by placing additional insulation around the water heater tank and pipe and flushing the heater twice a year.
Refrigerator
This one probably comes as little to no surprise, after all, your refrigerator is on all the time in order to keep all of your food and beverages cold (and frozen if your appliance has a freezer). That means you can’t really turn your fridge off but you can find a model with a high energy efficiency rating. You can also take other steps to cut down your refrigerator’s energy consumption by setting the temperature to 36 degrees Fahrenheit are higher and the freezer to 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
You can also do other little things like not leaving the door open for so long while you look for a midnight snack and clean the vents and coils of the unit so they are kept free and clear for good air flow.