Your electric bill is one of your biggest variable expenses each month, especially as the hot days of California’s summer stretch into the fall. Whether you’re looking to go greener in your home to reduce your environmental impact or you’re simply hoping to reduce your electric bill, there are several small ways you can make a big impact on your electricity usage each month. These energy-saving tips for new homeowners in San Joaquin Valley will help you reduce your electricity usage – without feeling deprived.

1. Raise the thermostat by a couple of degrees. You keep your air conditioner pumping hard, especially when the summer sun is pounding down outside. By adjusting your thermostat by just a couple of degrees, however, letting it get a little warmer in the house, you’ll reduce the amount of energy needed to keep your home at a mild temperature. In general, you’ll save around 2% of your utility bill for each degree.

2. Program your thermostat. Many new homes now come with programmable thermostats that allow you to control the temperature in your home throughout the day. You might, for example, discover you can let the temperature climb a little during the average weekday, when no one is home to complain if the interior temperature hits 80.

3. Examine your lighting technology. Are you still using old, standard bulbs? Unfortunately, those bulbs are not only energy hogs, they don’t produce a lot of light for the effort! By turning to LEDs or CFLs in your home, you’ll get more light for a much lower energy cost.

4. Turn off those lights. Speaking of lights, do you find, somehow, every light in your house ends up getting turned on – and even left on when you leave for the day? By making a habit of turning off lights when you leave a room or even installing motion sensors that will notice when no one is in the room and turn off the lights after a period of time, you’ll avoid energy waste.

5. Install a tankless water heater. Bringing hot water up to the right temperature and keeping it there is a big energy expense for many homes. By using a tankless water heater you’ll be able to produce hot water as its needed throughout the house. Even better, you’ll get to enjoy an essentially endless supply of hot water, so you’ll never end up taking a cold shower just because someone else took too long.

6. Unplug items you aren’t using. Quick check: how many items do you have plugged in around your home that suck energy as they sit there? This can be everything from your stereo to your televisions – and they can use a lot of energy even when they aren’t actually being used! Plug big units, like your gaming systems, Blu-ray player and television, into power strips so the entire strip can easily be turned off when it’s not in use and watch your energy bills start to creep downward.

7. Close the curtains and blinds. Make sure you aren’t raising the heat within your house during the hottest part of the day by allowing too much sunlight through the windows. Use your curtains and blinds to block out some of the sun to keep your house cooler, reducing the energy cost necessary to drop the temperature.

8. Check your air filters regularly. Your new home will come with brand new air filters. Those filters, however, need to be changed every three to six months – and potentially more often if you have a home full of pets or other dust and debris. Clean air filters make it easier for your air conditioner to move energy through the house, which means it will use less energy in the process.

Many of these energy-saving tips are simple, but they can have a big impact on the amount of energy you’re using each day. If you’re still looking for the perfect new home to implement these simple tips, contact us today to learn how we can get you in a green, energy-efficient home.