Save Energy, Save Money, Live Better!
Your home is your biggest investment. So, investing in it almost always makes sense. What are some of the best home improvement projects for improving the energy efficiency of your home? And which of these can you do yourself? The Best Home Improvement Projects Insulation Upgrades: Adding or improving insulation in your home’s attic, walls, […]
If we can understand appliance energy use, namely how much of our energy bill we are using to power these appliances, we can take steps to reduce our usage and save money. Typical North American Appliance Energy Use In a typical North American home, the following appliances and systems typically consume the most energy. Heating […]
ENERGY STAR is a voluntary program established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1992 to help businesses and individuals save money on energy costs and protect the environment through energy efficiency. The ENERGY STAR program sets energy efficiency standards and provides certifications for various products, homes, and buildings that meet or exceed these […]
What is mindful cooking? It is cooking smarter with what you have. While you might think this belongs more on a cooking site than one dedicated to helping you save money on your utility bills, the two are actually connected. You see when you practice mindful cooking, you are more aware of how you are […]
Dear Dave, I have been reading your blog at utility bill busters for a long time now, and I wanted to ask you a question. I live in a small ranch style house in illinois in the south and as you may know the weather has been absolutely scorching! We have a window air conditioner […]
Whether you have a Fedders, GE, Haier, Frigidaire or another Air Conditioner, the number one complaint so far this HOT summer season is why won’t my air conditioner work? It just seems to blow hot air…or doesn’t seem to cool very long at all. Unfortunately there are a lot of different reasons for this. Some […]
Here around my house, the weather lately has really been cooling off. Which means that fall is on the way. With fall, of course, comes cooler temperatures. And in the interest of saving money and energy, I don’t need to be running my air conditioners – I’d rather just open the windows and let the […]
Its the end of the cooling season for most of us, and there might be some used air conditioners up for sale. They might be on ebay, craig’s list, the local swap sheets, in classifieds or pennysavers. And the price might be really good – many might not want to store their units and are […]
Its no secret that newer air conditioners are generally more efficient – even non energy star rated air conditioner units. Of course, you tend to pay for such “luxury”. The temptation is there to simply use your old air conditioner unit instead of perhaps upgrading it. It saves a lot of money in the short […]
I was recently called to consult on an energy problem in a home with a portable, oil-filled space heater in the master bedroom. The owner was complaining that the room was still cold even after running the unit all night. Plus, he was concerned the unit was costing too much money to run every night for 12 hours. So…how much energy does the unit use? Let’s find out.