How To Kill-A-Watt: 4 Ways to Lower Your Electric Bill

O HOW TO KILL-A-WATT 4 WAYS TO LOWER YOUR ELECTRIC BILL The average household utility bill is $1,900 per year. With increasing reliance on electric gadgets, and the wattage only going up from there, bills are expected to rise 20 to 50 percent over the next 50 years. But never fear! Here are some simple ways to pull the plug on your rising utility costs: BE THE POWER GENERATION AND DO-IT-YOURSELF Make the shade work for you and plant trees near the central AC unit. REPLACE BULBS WITH CFLS. Old school bulbs waste a lot of heat to emit light. Installing energy-saving controls on outside lights and using low wattage or EnergyStar bulbs inside can save you $. SEAL AIR LEAKS. Caulk. Get your mind out of the gutter and get around the edges of walls, attics and basements. Install double pane windows. Put down weather-stripping or door sweeps for REPLACE AIR FILTERS. This is one of the easiest ways to make your home more efficient. Dirty, improperly fit filters are the HVAC equivalent of sucking a golf ball through a garden hose. windows and doors THERMOSTAT SETTING. Just by raising the thermostat from 73 to 78 in the spring and summer you could reduce your cooling costs by 15 percent. SHOCKING DEALS, STEALS, AND REBATES 2 DON'T BE A FOSSIL FOOL! GET PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE 25C GOVERNMENT TAX CREDIT EXTENSION ON HVAC SYSTEMS: 10% of cost up to $500, extended to December, 2013. UTILITY REBATES: MANUFACTURER Savings up to $1,300. REBATES up to $1,350. SPECIAL OFFER: Savings up to $1,500 off select products with qualifying systems. Routine maintenance of HVAC equipment helps increase durability and efficiency. Why it works? It saves time and money in the long run by: COMFORT CASH: $25 off any service for new customers. • Avoiding costly repairs • Truly allowing it to perform at its maximum efficiency FUN FACT: Willis Carrier Maintenance plans include thorough inspections of all parts and equipment twice a year - before the cooling and heating seasons. was considered the father of modern air-conditioning, and because of his work, Chicago had its first air-conditioned movie house in 1919. 4 I DON'T WANT NO SCRUBS. GET AN UPGRADE! You get incentives, including a GUARANTEE OF CHOOSE THIS ADD-ON: Programmable thermostats. You can control the temperature of your home and reduce utility bills. You'll love the comfort of AC so much during the hot summer months that it will give you vent-elation. 25% SAVINGS on energy costs so it's not that complicated. Let's put it this way: if the fur in your condenser from your black lab has turned gray, IT'S TIME TO GET ENERGY EFFICIENT UNITS: Upgrade your HVAC unit and save money with the most energy efficient systems on the AN UPGRADE. market comfort24-7.com Comfort247.Com SOURCES epa.gov Building Designs for Interior Designers by Corkey Bingelli, 2010 (J. Wiley and Sons) Manufactured Homes: Saving Money by Saving Energy, 2006 (Huduser.org) practicalenvironmentalist.com lipower.org/residentiallefficiency/tips/66ways.html Your Neighborhood Heating and Cooling Experts comfort24-7.com