October is Energy Awareness Month and now that I have a much bigger house, energy usage concerns me. In my apartment, it was easy to see if my kids left a light on, or make sure the ceiling fans were turned off before I left. It didn’t take much effort to check all the rooms since our apartment was small, and now with two floors to worry about and a central heating/air system I wonder if our electricity bill will be a lot higher that before.
Luckily, Best Buy has ENERGY STAR® products that will help keep the cost down throughout the year. All our new appliances are ENERGY STAR certified, and our newest television is so energy efficient, it scores BELOW the average energy rating – that means it uses much less energy than expected! You can check out over 2,300 ENERGY STAR certified products at a Best Buy location. We are taking small steps that I’m hoping will make an impact on our bill, such as using energy efficient light bulbs, keeping the thermostat at a constant 68-72 degrees, and keeping all electronics off when not in use.
Did you know that local utility companies offer rebates for trading in your old inefficient appliances? We recently called our local utility company and we received a whopping $260 from them. All I had to do was call up, have the appliances outside, and they did the rest! They also offered a rebate for the purchase of new appliances, but I opted for the cash back option instead.
Since the average home spends about $2,200 yearly on energy, it is always a good idea to upgrade to ENERGY STAR products when you can. You can check out how much you can save with a new appliance by checking out ENERGY STAR Rebates. Do you take any steps to ensure your home is energy efficient?