May 29, 2019
The Ultimate Guide to Making Your Rental Apartment Energy Efficient
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, making your home energy-efficient can save you as much as $500 annually on utility bills.
In this post, we discuss how people living in our apartments for rent in Kalorama, Washington DC can make their spaces energy-efficient.
Switch to a programmable thermostat
In most cases, cooling and heating take up the hugest percentage in a household’s expenses. With a programmable thermostat, you can set a schedule so that your AC cools or heats your home only when it is supposed to. You can automatically set the thermostat to switch the heater off during the day when you are at work and turn it on in the evenings when you are back.
Use energy-efficient bulbs
Lighting makes up 5% of an average American household’s energy consumption. Apart from being energy efficient, LED and DFL bulbs are brighter and last longer than the conventional incandescent bulbs. In the last few years, the prices of energy-efficient bulbs have dropped significantly, making them affordable to everybody.
Caulk and seal doors and windows
Gaps on your doors and windows will let cool air in your home escape during the summer and let cold air in during the winter. When the temperatures in your home are either too cold or too hot, you will be naturally inclined to adjust your HVAC, leading to energy wastage. Calking and sealing these gaps to ensure there are minimal or zero air leaks.
Use of power strips
In an apartment, there might not be enough electrical outlets to meet the household’s electrical needs. This explains why power strips are a common phenomenon in apartments. Unlike conventional power strips, smart ones keep idle electronic devices from drawing in power, thus preventing energy wastage.
Turn off the lights and ceiling fans when leaving the house
Although most people believe that ceiling fans help cool the home, the truth is they do not. Rather, they only circulate the cooled air within the room to make it comfortable. Therefore, switch off ceiling fans and lights when leaving your home to reduce your energy usage.
Replace your air filter
Clogged air filters only make your HVAC work harder to cool or heat your home. Although the frequency of changing air filters depends on such factors as the number of people and pets within the home, the indoor air quality, and the type of filter, experts recommend that you change it every three months.
The above tips are not exhaustive, but they are an ideal place to start for people living in apartments for rent in Kalorama, Washington DC.
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