Upgrading to Energy-Efficient Appliances is a great way to lower your overall energy use. Depending on where you live, there are incentives and rebates available for energy-efficient appliances, including those certified by ENERGY STAR. You may also be able to combine these rebates with certain federal tax credits leading to savings for consumers.
- Federal Tax Credits:
- Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022
- Tax Credit Amount can save homeowners up to $3200 annually for efficiency upgrades by claiming 30% tax credit on eligible expenses
- Specific Appliance Credits can cover appliances like water heaters, energy-efficient windows and doors, insulation, and more.
- Eligible Improvements can cover heat pumps, insulation, water heaters, energy-efficient doors and windows.
- Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates:
- Rebate amounts can vary based on appliances but many have seen rebates ranging from $840-$8000 for items like electric stoves to heat pumps.
- Rebate Programs like Home Electrification and Appliance Rebate and Home Efficiency Rebate are a few options to investigate to help reduce your energy usage.
- Some rebate programs may have limited availability and income limits which are only available to lower or moderate income households.
- State-Level Rebates:
- Utility Rebates often cover smart thermostats, washing machines, dyers, and refrigerators.
- State Energy-Efficient Appliance Rebate Program (SEEARP) was created by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to aid with replacing older appliances with energy-efficient models
For the latest updates on energy saving rebates and lists of certified products visit https://www.energystar.gov/ or https://www.energy.gov/.
There are several other ways to save energy and lower your utility bill and electricity bill without investing in new appliances for your living space or business. Using natural light from windows instead of fluorescent lights to brighten your space is an easy and inexpensive way to save electricity. Turning off lights when you leave a room, replacing old, incandescent light bulbs with new, LED light bulbs, and unplugging unused devices are a few ways to lower energy costs. Turning off your ceiling fan and unplugging chargers are easy ways to reduce the amount of electricity you use on a daily basis. Using power strips can also help better control your energy bill. Power strips make it easy to turn off multiple devices at once, along with preventing phantom loads which are things that consume energy even when devices appear to be turned off. For televisions, make sure you do not leave your TV on standby mode, as it still consumes power in this state. Adjusting the brightness and contract of your television and using a sleep timer can also impact your energy consumption.
Regular maintenance of your HVAC is important to controlling energy costs. Adjusting your thermostat temperature between 7-10 degrees can reduce your heating expenses and cooling costs by as much as 10% depending on the season. Programmable thermostats and Smart thermostats are another great way to control your energy consumption at work or home. It is suggested to keep your home around 68 degrees during the day and lower the air conditioner to between 60-65 degrees at night during the winter time, and for summer keep your thermostat at 75-78 degrees when home and higher when away. Sealing air leaks, replacing old weather stripping, using caulk to fill gaps and improving your insulation will also help lower your energy consumption and prevent heat loss. Replacing the air filters regularly will improve your air quality, help the longevity of your air conditioning equipment and will help better control your cooling or heating costs.
There are also ways to use less energy while doing everyday things around the house like laundry and washing the dishes. By using cold water instead of hot water, you will use less energy and is often more effective for washing clothes. When possible, do full loads of laundry in your washer to avoid water waste. Drying clothes on a lower heat setting and cleaning the lint filter are easy ways to reduce the energy consumption for your clothes dryer. Air drying clothes and using drier balls are other ways to help save energy at home. You can also save energy and water by taking shorter showers and by installing a low-flow showerhead at home. These showerheads can reduce water consumption by 2.5 gallons per minute without the loss of water pressure. Ways to reduce your electricity usage and lower utility bills is to skip the rinse cycle by scraping your plates instead of rinsing before loading your dish washer and to air-dry your dishes. For older machines, check to see if your dishwasher has eco-mode or opt for cold water as a way to save on electricity. Lowering the water heating temperature, insulating pipes, and insulating the tank are simple ways to save on energy. If you are a pool owner, reducing your filtration time, installing a timer, using short, frequent cycles and operating during off-peak hours will help the life of your pool pump and reduce your energy consumption.
There are also energy professionals who provide energy audits and can help guide you to becoming a better energy saver. These professionals can help identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency, optimizing energy performance and reducing consumption. They may suggest retail energy providers that offer renewable energy or installing solar panels as ways to offset and lower your energy bill. There are different types of energy audits available depending on the client’s needs. They can inspect the sites, collect data, test equipment and can provide reports and recommendations. State energy offices, utility companies and the private sector are places you can research and find the right energy auditor for you. Whether you need a professional auditor or want to try saving energy on your own, there are countless options on ways to reduce consumption and save some money in the process. It’s important to remember that the best way to save money on energy bills is to use less energy.