By Team JSR

As winter approaches in Aotearoa, it’s important to start thinking about ways to save energy while staying warm. There are many ways to reduce your energy usage and keep your bills low.

Here are four tips to help you save energy this winter:

 1. Invest In Energy Efficient Curtains

Older Kiwi homes are notorious for their chilly, damp atmosphere. Preparing your house to withstand the winter’s fury can not only help you save money on energy costs, but may also provide significant health advantages.

As the weather gets colder, you’re likely to turn up the heaters to keep warm and toasty. You may not know that a home with no curtains loses up to 31% of its heat through its windows. This means some of that precious heating is escaping out the window! Curtains can make a difference by conserving lost heat in the home.

2. Turn Appliances Off Regularly

One of the easiest ways to save energy is simply by turning off appliances when you’re not using them. This includes lights, TVs, computers, and any other electronics. If everyone in your household makes a conscious effort to do this, you’ll see a significant decrease in your energy bills.

Do you leave some of your appliances in red light? That is what call a standby mode. Standby mode on your energy-using appliances is often costing you more than you would if they were not on. For example, the lights in your house will be used for 2-4 hours a day more in winter than in summer. The more lights you leave on, the bigger the difference in energy usage you will notice, resulting you in more cost overtime.

So switch them off.

3.  Switch to Energy-Saving Lightbulbs

To save money in the long run, switch to energy-efficient light bulbs like compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) or LEDs’ light-emitting diodes. These may have a higher price tag than the average incandescent bulb does, but this is because they can provide much more energy efficiency for that money.

Energy-saving lightbulbs use up to 85% less energy than your common incandescent bulb, and you’ll save up to $100 to $300 over the course of the bulb lifespan. Plus, these bulbs also have a longer lifespan, so you don’t have to replace them often.

4. Keep An Eye On Your Heat Pump’s Temperature

A heat pump is tempting to blast to max, but not only does it use more power, it also makes it hard to control your electricity bill. Luckily, there are a few strategic things you can do that can keep you both comfortable and economical with how much electricity you’re using. Since heat pumps will keep working for over two hours once they switch on, it’s worth setting a timer so that you can turn it off when you’re not using it.

And as well as saving energy, keep the thermostat temperature in your home between 18 °C and 21 °C. This helps keep the room drier and saves power without making the heat pump to work more. It also makes it easier to calibrate your heating and cooling settings to be more consistent because going from hot or cold can waste energy.

Want heat pump installed or maintained at your place?

JSR and its team are trusted HVAC specialists in Waikato, providing consultation, maintenance, and installation for heat pump systems. Get in touch with JSR, and we’ll book you an appointment with our heat pump technician.