Living in 2023 means your expenses are likely through the roof. It’s not cheap to own a home, especially when it comes to your household expenditures. Utility bills can be costly and no property is immune to damage over time from wear and tear.

Improving your home’s efficiency is something that can not only help keep your property in good condition but it’ll also save you money in the process. Being able to save money is something you’ll appreciate, especially when it comes to spending that hard-earned cash on yourself instead!

With that in mind, here are some top tips to help improve your home’s efficiency and save money this year.

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Get your HVAC serviced

When it comes to HVAC, it has a habit of breaking down once the summer months roll around. Getting your HVAC serviced is a great way to ensure your home remains cool during the summer and toasty during those colder months.

Ensuring your HVAC is serviced regularly because that way, you avoid running into problems regularly. Instead, you can get on with your days without the fear of the HVAC breaking down every other day.

Use trusted HVAC experts to make sure your appliance is performing at the best it can do regardless of its age.

Maintain an ongoing maintenance checklist

To help keep your home in good condition all year round, make sure you’ve got an ongoing maintenance checklist. This will help greatly with keeping a watchful eye over the various must-dos in the home. From clearing out your gutters to making sure your windows and doors are sealed properly, it’s all useful to keep your home performing efficiently.

Having an ongoing maintenance checklist is important because otherwise, a lot of these tasks can be forgotten about. Once they’re forgotten about, they can end up causing problems.

Draught-proof any windows or doors

Draught-proofing your windows or doors is an essential when you’re trying to improve the efficiency around your home. Making sure the sealant around your windows and doors will help keep the hot air in and the cold out during those cooler months.

Equally, they help to keep those windows and doors, in good condition for the long run. Ideally, the average window or door should last at least fifteen years. Some last up to thirty years if maintained properly.

Minimize usage of your laundry machines

Laundry machines are an energy guzzler when it comes to your utility bills. You want to reduce the usage of these laundry machines as best as possible if you haven’t already. By minimizing the usage, you’re going to help keep your utility bills low. Not only that but you’re also going to help the environment by keeping those carbon emissions down too.

Be mindful of water usage

Finally, just like any other utility usage, make sure you’re being mindful of your water usage. It’s easy to use a lot of water as a household, even for those living alone or as a couple. Be mindful of how much you’re using.

With these tips, you’ll not only improve your home’s efficiency but your wallet too!

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Here are two major suggestions on how to save on utility bills at home.

Get your major appliances checked by a professional.
The idea is to make sure that each energy-consuming appliance you have at home is not sucking money out from you. If the appliances you have at home are inverter and energy-efficient, you just need to have it checked if still in good working condition. Also, keep in mind that each appliance has a lifespan. Have the professional expert check it as well to make sure there is no chance of the appliance getting burned, causing fire, or anything like that.

A neighbor came to mind right now. They had this top-of-the-line gas range oven and it gave them years of great service. But one day, while the woman of the house was roasting a chicken, the gas oven suddenly blew up. It was such a huge blast that a part of their house had a big hole where the oven was. It was a good thing that nobody got hurt when it happened. The woman of the house was checking her laundry when it happened. Do you what caused the blast? Short circuit. The electrical outlet where the oven was plugged got wet and it caused the short circuit, in turn causing the oven to blow up. Had an expert was able to check it, nothing like that would happen.

So, get an expert on appliances and electrical outlets to your home as soon as possible. Get everything checked. It will not only save you on utility bills but also prevent accidents from happening.

You need to install energy-efficient windows for your home.
The idea is not to let the HVAC use too much power in order to make the house cool/warm. If the windows can ward off the heat of the sun or the cold of the winter, then you will no longer consume too much energy, thus, saving you on utility bill. There is also no need to turn on the light when you have good windows installed, even when inside the house it is a bit dark.

Generally speaking, there are many ways on how we can all save on our household bills. We just need to research and get a professional’s advice on how to. We also need to act on it and be consistent especially on the frequency of check and maintenance of our homes. For our home, we make sure we get the electrical wirings and outlets, including the breakers, checked once a year. Pest control is once a year for the major one, every quarter thereafter for check-ups. Check of major appliances once a year, too. And the water supply connection once every two to three years, unless there’s a leak then a major check-up will be done right away.

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I am saving up to buy a new refrigerator. A bigger one, two-door, and with an efficient, energy-saving motor running it. We have a regular-sized one right now and it’s been with us for roughly seven years already. It is still in good working condition but the storage capacity is not enough for the family anymore.

Again, the pandemic has made us realize and discover so many things at home. The fridge is one of my discoveries. There is not enough room for everyone’s stuff. We went grocery-shopping and stashed consumables good for two to three weeks at a time. The fridge was always packed to capacity! Cash flow was unpredictable that time so I told myself that I would buy a bigger fridge when the economy is more stable than it was back then.

I started searching for the best refrigerator for a big family like us. I found a 29.5 cubic feet two-door refrigerator with the freezer at the bottom. Yes, it is energy-efficient, an inverter. Our current refrigerator will still be used so I am also making sure that there is an efficient appliance repair services nearby. Just in case it breaks down unexpectedly.

But let us talk about a refrigerator’s lifespan. Majority says that it lasts for ten years, while some say that it lasts up to twenty five years depending on the usage and maintenance. I believe the latter. Growing up, we had a heavy-duty fridge that lasted for years and years. I was not able to count it but, if I am not mistaken, it was replaced when I graduated from college. I think I was the one who replaced it. My parents wanted to keep it but we were advised by an appliance expert to replace it since it is consuming so much energy, the fridge being an old one without an energy-saving motor running it. Most likely, it served us for a minimum of fifteen years.

According to the US Department of Energy, refrigerators can last approximately up to twelve years. If your refrigerator has been running for more than that, have an expert check it because it might be time to replace it with a brand new one. It might cost you a lot now but it will actually save you some money in the long run. It was the same advice given to us by the appliance expert who checked our old fridge.

My suggestion to large families like us who live in a single house unit, get professional experts to check on your appliances. Make sure it is not taking too much from you but instead serving you while at the same time saving money for being efficient.