Life has changed a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for people who are now working from home. You may notice that since you are spending more time at your property, your power usage has gone up. There are a few things that you can do to keep your utility bills down, some of which we mentioned in our Top 6 Energy-Saving Tips for Spring, but we’ve outlined some additional tips below. Simply follow these helpful tips to save energy during these trying times or reach out to us for help:
1. Turn off devices when not using them
With your house being your new office space, you likely have a lot of electronics plugged in. If you have several monitors, lights, TVs, or things like a printer or fax machine, make sure to turn them off when you are not using them. At the end of your workday, power down the things that you are done using because even on standby mode they use a decent amount of energy.
2. Use the sunshine to your advantage
While you may be inside, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the beautiful weather outdoors. Open your blinds and draw back your curtains to let natural light into your work-from-home space. Not only will it brighten your mood, but it will brighten the room so you don’t have to use as many lights.
3. Enable energy-saving settings on your computer
You can adjust the settings of your computer to have it run more efficiently in terms of power usage. By making it so your monitor and hard drive switch to standby after a certain period of time without use, you can save energy. Lowering the brightness of the screen can also help to reduce power use.
4. Cook outside with your grill or fire pit
The appliances in your kitchen use a considerable amount of energy. Since you are home more, you will be eating more meals there, and that can run up your utility bill. Try to grill lunch or dinner a few nights a week instead of using the stove or oven as often, and it can make a positive impact on your power use.
5. Be smart about washing dishes
A dishwasher is an appliance that uses a lot of power. When you can, try to hand-wash and air-dry your dirty dishes and silverware, or at least make sure that you are running full loads when you do use the dishwasher.
6. Expert Fort Worth Electricians in Your Corner
The team at Hop2It Electrical is here to help if you have any questions about how to lower your energy bills or need help with any electrical repairs or installations around your Fort Worth-area home. Reach out to us today!