Reduce Home Expenses

Even hanging the right curtains can reduce consumption!

Here are some ways to reduce your monthly expenses.  Energy consumption costs and the prices charged for the use of communication devices are rising, taking a big chunk out of homeowners income.  Although you will start your investigation in the area that is bringing you the highest expense, you will want to implement projects that give you the highest return on your investment. In the beginning, you will probably be doing a lot of very small and simple jobs.  Here are some places to start your research into more environmental and cost effective alternatives.

Monthly Television Bill – Many local television stations broadcast their signals over the air as well as through satellite and cable. That means you don’t need a subscription to receive these channels, only an HD TV antenna.  Most of these signals are HD quality. A good antenna will cost around $50, the best is around $200 including the installation cables.  With such a system, you can save yourself the monthly cable TV / or satellite signal charge. In the GTA You will receive about 20 channels like CBC, CTV, CITY-TV, Global, Omni, PBS, CBS, NBC, and more.  You should evaluate how many of the other cable stations you need, how many of those other channels do you actually watch?  Things you have to be on the look out when installing the antenna is a clear line of sight to the CN tower and also toward Buffalo as this will improve reception.

Electricity Consumption – With energy cost rising out of control it makes sense to try to make your home as energy independent as possible.  Televisions and other electronics draw energy all day long while you are not even using them because they are in a constant state of waiting.  They are always preparing their circuits in the event that you might turn them on.  If you put these devices on a power bar or even a timer, it will make it easy to cut power to them once they are no longer needed.  Computer peripherals can also be shut off when not in use.  Change regular light bulbs for florescent ones. You can put some lights on a dimmer, not only to create atmosphere, but also to save on electricity!

Also consider purchasing energy efficient appliances. The refrigerator will consume the most electricity of all your appliances; it is wise to make sure it is efficient.

Water consumption – You should check all your water outlets for leaks, as even the smallest drip can add up over time costing you money.  If you have older toilet tanks, you should replace them with more efficient ones.  Older tanks use unnecessarily large amounts of water to flush away human waste.  Make sure your toilet flapper is working properly and not permitting any water to seep away.  Check sinks with a constant drip as well.  Use a water-saving showerhead in your bathtubs.

An interesting project could be to collect rainwater from the roof and use it to water your lawn or garden.

Hot water tanks and pipes can be insulated so that they do not lose heat as they travel along their path to their destination to be used.

Natural Gas Consumption – You can instruct programmable thermostats when you will be out, and it is safe to turn the heating and air-conditioning units off to reduce energy. They can be set to restart an hour before you come home.

Home Improvements – Modern windows with double glazed panes will help prevent heat loss from the home. Making sure that your walls and roof are properly insulated will also have the same effect.

This is a collection of ideas I know about, if you have ideas, please feel free to post them in a comment.