Little ghost and goblins will be running up to houses trick-or-treating in your neighborhood this Halloween.
However, the real scary gremlins are energy vampires that suck juice from appliances and or other devices costing American households an average of $100 a year on their energy bills.
You can defang these energy vampires this Halloween season with these home energy efficiency tips that will save you money for the fall and upcoming winter.
Seal Sneaky Air Leaks
Air leaks around doors, windows and even electrical outlets are wicked and allow outside air to enter your home and work against heating your rooms in winter and cooling them in summer.
These unwanted chilly drafts are scary and rob your heating and cooling systems from being efficient. Sealing air leaks can keep these spirits from entering your home and save you up to 10% savings on your energy bill.
Simple fixes include installing weatherstripping on doors and caulking around windows. Bigger jobs may include sealing leaks around your attic and adding insulation. Also, don’t forget to close your chimney flue to keep warm inside air in, and cold outside air (and other spooky spirits) out of your house!
Unplug electrical ‘vampires’
Unplugging electronic devices or appliances that you don’t use frequently or are not using can also save money on your electricity bill.
Plugged-in devices draw energy even when they are not being used. This can account for as much as 10% of your monthly electric bill.
Smart power strips use a countdown timer that you can preset to times when you don’t use those appliances that are plugged into them. It cuts power to your TV and AV equipment when sensors don’t detect motion in the room and remote controls are inactive.
They allow you to turn on and off power flow to device groups so they don’t consume electricity when you’re not at home. An advanced power strip takes savings one step further by simplifying the savings process by turning off idle electronics automatically.
Dreaded drippy faucets
Hot water leaking from a hot water tank can waste gallons of water. Hot water leaking at a rate of 1 drop per second can waste up to 1,661 gallons of water over the course of a year and waste $35 in electricity or in natural gas.
Fixing drips is a cost-effective and easy way to save energy. Installing low flow faucets can be a great way to prevent leaks, save water, and even protect yourself from a horrifying electric bill.
Inefficient lightbulbs
Incandescent light bulbs are big energy vampires! Switch to ENERGY STAR® certified LED light bulbs. They use up to 90% less energy and last 15 times longer than traditional incandescent light bulbs.
This can amount to a savings of around $55 in electricity costs over the lifetime of a bulb. This switch to ENERGY STAR® certified LED light bulbs might be as potent as garlic to ward off energy-sucking vampires!
Energy-sucking electronics and appliances
The best wooden stake in the heart of energy-vampires is updating your appliances and electronic devices to ENERGY STAR certified products. They are proven to use less energy overall and have lower standby consumption than the average appliance or electronic device.
Refrigerators, clothes washers and clothes dryers consume the most energy in your home, accounting for 15% of total consumption. By investing in these upgrades with ENERGY STAR products, it will save money and energy in the long run.
Curb idle dead time
When you’re done working on your computer or when your little goblins finish playing video games, energy-vampires sneak in and suck energy when you don’t realize it.
Simply by setting your computer to sleep mode or powering down your video game console instead of leaving it paused for a prolonged dead period can lead to bigger savings.
The more energy-saving tips you can apply, the better the energy vampires will be banished from your home saving you money on your energy bill.
Moreover, it’s not just for the Halloween season, but for the whole year round.
For more ways to slay energy vampires, go to dteenergy.com/saveenergy.