Easy Ways to Lower Your Energy Bill

After months and months of racking up expensive energy bills from having to use the heater to ensure that you stayed warm throughout the grueling winter months, you are probably looking for ways to cut back on the amount of energy you use. Don't worry, you are not alone - according to a study done by the Shelton Group, a marketing and advertising agency that specializes in energy-efficiency issues, about 59% of the population says that their energy bill has gone up.

This very reason is why All My Sons Moving & Storage has made a list of four highly efficient ways to reduce the amount of energy used in your home.

1. Seal Air Leaks. Air and heat from your home can be escaping without you even knowing it. Take some extra time to caulk plumbing lines, electricity wires, lighting, attics, crawlspaces and windows, in order to ensure that you are not wasting the energy that you are paying for by letting it slip out the window, literally. Doing something as simple as caulking your windows (which costs about $1,000 for new insulation) will save you a ton of money when compared to installing new windows; which often times runs about $9,000-$12,000. Both options will save similar amounts on your energy bill as well - caulking your windows will do it for a fraction of the cost.

2. Replace All Lightbulbs. Changing all of your lightbulbs to LEDs will reduce your energy cost per year by about $100. The old-fashioned incandescent bulb has already seen the best of its hay-day. On the other hand, energy-efficient (halogen) incandescent lights, not only meet the government's new energy efficient standards, they are also not being phased out.

3. Adjust Your Temperature. Do not forget to reduce the temperature on your water heater to about 120 degrees, although most heaters are set to 140 degrees out of the box. This has the potential to save you about 6% to 10% on your annual water heating costs - which totals to about 14% to 18% of your utility bills. You can also prevent additional heat loss by wrapping hot water pipes and an older water heater in insulating material.

4. Don't Forget About Your Thermostat. The study from Shelton also revealed that about a whopping 40% of consumers did not take the time to program their thermostat to ideal energy-saving settings. In order to save an ideal amount when programming your thermostat, make sure to choose the thermostat that best suits your overall scheduling needs - this way you don't have to constantly remind yourself to set it at a certain temperature. Overall, you can choose between four different types of thermostats: one with 7 day programming, 5-1-1 programming, 5-2 programming, or 1-week programming. Ideally, you will need to have a program for both the warmer and colder winter months. Investing in this can save you up to 15% a year on overall energy costs.