Households and businesses can end up paying large amounts on cash for their aggregate energy consumption each year. Most could reduce this consumption with just a few changes to their habits and their appliances. Some will require a bit of spending while others are purely smart decision-making. Would you like to save on energy bills? Then you should focus your energies on controlling the biggest draws including your air conditioning and your lighting system. Find ways to make these more efficient and you will feel the difference.

Retrofit with LED Lights

One of the easiest things that people can do is to take out older light bulbs and save on energy bills them with the newest lighting technologies. It is about time that you switch to LED lights if you haven’t done so already. You will benefit from increased energy efficiency with these bulbs able to generate higher lumens at lower wattage compared to previous technologies. They also tend to last much longer than before. Older bulbs would have you switching to another one after about a year or so. LEDs can last several years without failures.

Use Milder Settings

If you are using an air conditioner, then consider setting it to a milder temperature than what you have right now. Maybe you can still be comfortable even if the room isn’t as cold as it is. Perhaps one or two degrees higher won’t really make a difference. Try it and you may be pleasantly surprised, especially when you reach the end of the month and see your energy bill.

Install a Programmable Thermostat

A programmable thermostat can change the temperature setting to certain values at certain times. It can even turn the unit on or off as needed. If you have cyclical schedules, then you can easily predict when you will be out of the house for work. Make the AC turn off by itself automatically so that you will never have to worry about forgetting to do so. Maybe you could also turn it off at night if it’s already chilly.

Change the Air Filter

A dirty air filter will block airflow and make the system inefficient. This needs to be cleaned or replaced at a regular interval to keep air flowing at a good rate while effectively blocking impurities. Check the manual for guidance. This usually needs to happen every 3-6 months. Otherwise, it will not be able to operate as well as it could.