While this may seen an odd topic for a blog on chronic conditions, the high cost to heat/cool your home, let alone fill your car’s gas tank, or paying for groceries is making life’s challenges even more difficult. This post primarily focuses on gas and home heating/cooling, which seem to be of most pressing concern. It also includes previous posts, such as Ways to Save on Monthlies .
GET TO KNOW YOUR STATE ENERGY PROGRAM: Every state has an “Efficiency” program that helps you weatherize, reduce energy costs etc. Many of these programs also work with local utilities. If you don’t know the Efficiency program for your state, Google your state’s name and “energy efficiency.”
Each state is different but their primary goal is help reduce energy and associated costs. You can learn a lot and save money by working with them. You can get discounts/rebates on everything from energy efficient appliances, heating systems, light bulbs, weatherization for your home or business and much more.
Many states offer free and low-cost energy efficient lighting, appliances, water heaters, and more for income-qualified homeowners and renters based on the percentage of income that goes toward your electric bills.
SAVE MONEY AT THE PUMP
• Change driving habits: Examine your driving habits. Then consider the following:
- Switch medical appointments to “tele a med” visits when possible.
- Telecommute for work when possible
- Do errands at one time and avoid multiple trips
- Use a "ride share" program for medical appointments if your medical provider offers them. Check to see if your state or the company you work for offers such programs.
- Shop via mail order including pharmacy, groceries etc. Saves time, fuel cost and even the labor of getting things in and out of your car.
- Walk or bike for shorter trips
- Carpool for work, shopping, entertainment
- Use mass transit
- Consider a more energy efficient car. There are a variety of federal rebates for electric cars
- Consider an electric bike as one of your primary forms of transportation. Don’t forget the helmet. Be sure to check your state’s Energy Efficiency program for rebates.
- Change cars, such as a smaller vehicle and/or one that saves on fuel
- Don’t idle for more than a minute-Not only does this save gas but it also reduces carbon dioxide in the air
- Use cruise control and overdrive gears
- Avoid accelerating rapidly or braking hard
- Shut down all devices when you turn off the engine
- Slow down: Each mile Each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.15 per gallon for gas. Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas.
- Travel light, avoid wind resistance – remove unused, heavy objects from your car to lighten your load. Losing 100 pounds stored in your vehicle can improve your MPG by about 1%. Removing large, roof-top cargo boxes can improve fuel economy by 2-8%. Covering your truck bed may also help reduce drag without adding too much weight. Making sure your truck tailgate is attached and closed prevents excess drag.
- Take fewer trips
• Know your cars mileage: Knowing their mileage will help you see how the price increase impacts your gas costs. You can figure this out better if you change your driving patterns, track them, and see if there are any improvements. The insights you get from this can help you decide what to do next.
• Know the current gas prices: Using apps and sites like Gasbuddy.com helps direct you to spots where you can save the most
• Avoid “Gas Saving” Devices: Many of these don’t actually work. If you have questions, talk to the mechanic who works on your car.
• Use Fuel Rewards Programs: Check around for rewards programs. Gas stations, grocery stores often offer rewards programs that will help you reduce your costs/
Notice if gas stations in your area offer cheaper gas prices on certain days of week. Plan to fill up on these days.
- Cash back credit card: Your responsible usage of credit cards lets you reap some fantastic rewards, including discounts on gas pumps. There are different conditions to use these rewards depending on the credit card, but either way, it’s a discount. Just make sure to pay off your balance to avoid incurring more charges.
• Tune Up: A car that is well maintain will operate more efficiently.
- Ensure that tires are properly inflated
- Consider synthetic oil: It can make a significant difference in your engine by improving its efficiency. The drawback is that it will usually be twice as much to get a fully synthetic oil change than a normal oil change. But, when it comes to efficiency, you can expect synthetic oil to pay off in boosting the life of your engine.
LOWER YOUR HEATING/COOLING BILL
• Weatherize: Go through your state’s energy program to learn more about weatherization, what programs they offer, freebies etc. For summer cooling or winter heating, the better you’ve weatherized your house, the lower your bill. There are lots of federal and state weatherization rebates, even if you are a renter. Some tips on weatherizing your home:
- Clean gutters
- Install and set programmable thermostats: Programmable thermostats are easy to install and ENERGY STAR estimates you can save as much as 10% on heating and cooling costs by properly using one. Chances are your state’s energy program offers free or low cost thermostats.
- Change ceiling fans to rotate the correct way: Not just for cooling, set correctly, it can also be used to rotate air flow so that heat rising into a high ceiling is blown back down to where it can do the most good — where the people are.
- Ceiling or other circulating fan will make you feel a lot cooler. Remember to turn off when not in use.
- Maintain cooling systems: Dirty AC filters block airflow and make units work harder to cool your home. Cleaning and/or replacing filters once per month will lower an AC’s energy consumption by 5% to 15%. If you have a central cooling system, be sure that floor registers aren’t blocked with dust—or furniture. A unit’s evaporator and condenser coils (located outside) should also be clear of dirt and other debris (fallen leaves, branches, grass). And clip foliage so that it always remains at least 2 feet from the condenser.
- Avoid heat buildup during the day: Whenever the outdoor temperature exceeds the temperature inside your home, avoid activities that generate a lot of heat, such as cooking on the stovetop and using the dishwasher or clothes dryer. Instead, microwave food or grilling it outside, washing dishes by hand and letting them air-dry and hanging clothes on a clothesline. Try to save these activities until after dark when temperatures have dropped. And if you must bathe during the heat of the day, always use the bathroom exhaust fan to spot-ventilate and remove excess heat and humidity. Computers, stereos and TVs are also big heat-generators. By simple avoidance, you’ll be save money on electricity—and what it would cost to make that AC work overtime.
- Close curtains, blinds and shades: Whatever your treatments, you’ll see significant savings if you work to prevent solar heat gain by keeping them drawn all day. “When completely closed and lowered on a sunny window, highly reflective blinds can reduce heat gain by around 45%. Try to use light-colored treatments: The lighter the hue, the more they’ll deflect the sun’s scorching rays. Hang shades as close to windowpanes as possible, as this enables them to also block outdoor heat from radiating inside.
- Keep curtains, blinds and shades up during the colder months: Allow the sunlight to both warm your home and provide natural lighting during the day. As it begins to get dark, help to hold the heat in the house by closing the curtains, blinds and shade.
- Check, clean or replace central heating filters.
- Flush your water heater. Sediment inevitably gathers inside your water heater (unless you have a tankless one) and impedes the water flow. Flushing is an easy DIY task to weatherize your home for winter.
• Heating/Cooling Systems: Start by checking your state’s efficiency guides for heating and cooling. See what kind of rebates they offer. Do your homework before making a purchase. Talk to other people who have a system you might be considering. Understand both the positives and negatives. If you are considering something like a woodstove, very popular where I live, consider factors such as where you’ll get wood from. How and where will you stack it? Are you going to have the strength to handle the daily demands of heating your home in this matter? Will you mind the mess it creates?
• How to Save when you are a renter/or just want to save money: Weatherization options are available to renters, as well as rebates for products like energy efficient air conditioners or room heaters.
- During the hotter months, save money by:
o Set your air conditioner to 78 degrees (F) or higher
o Wear cool, loose clothing — even indoors.
o Eating spicy cools you down
o Use fans
o Take cold showers and drink plenty of cold water
o Draw drapes and blinds during the day. Make sure the space at the top of curtain between the rod and the wall is covered, or hot air will rise through the gap. It's possible to buy curtains and shades with thermal ratings, so shop around or make your own.
o Once the outside temperature outside is cooler than inside, open windows, particularly at night. Be sure to close them in the early morning and draw the shades to help keep the cool in.
o Shut down unnecessary electric devices
o Use a cool pillow
- During the cooler months
o Check radiators-are they blocked off by couches or other furniture items? Same if you have vent heating. Look for them near floor frames or above floor crown molding. An apartment make by rearranging furnishings for clear heat resistant pathways.
o If you have radiators, find heat resistant reflecting sheets (check on line). Putting them on the wall right behind the radiator reflects heat back into the room. These work when placed behind a radiator that’s next to an exterior wall.
o Purchase a humidifier. Using one not only helps with winter dry skin, but it helps to regulate warmer temps. Optimal relative humidity readings should be somewhere between 20-40%. When your home’s moisture levels are adequate, you can adjust your thermostat down a few degrees without noticing a major difference
o Draw drapes and blinds at night and open during the day. The reverse of the summer , open curtains allow sunlight in to warm and light the house. Draw curtains or shades around sunset will help to trap the heat accumulated during the day. Quilted curtains help to retain heat.
o Talk to the land lord about a Smart Thermostat
o Close fireplace dampers and flues
o Shut doors as they can help to seal in warmth
o Refrain from shutting off your heat frequently. Continually shutting off and restarting your heat is actually more expensive. If you’re going to be away, turn the thermostat way down but not off so pipes don’t freeze.
o For more Heating tips, including hacks that don’t work https://www.triplecrowncorp.com/tips-saving-money-heat-bills/
OTHER POSTS ON SAVING MONEY
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