Here at Hemphill Solar we believe in reducing your power needs and increasing the return on investment you will see by installing a solar power package. There are several steps a home or business owner should consider completing before installing a solar power package. These steps can increase the return period for a solar installation by as much as 2 years. Some people may have already taken these steps on their journey towards reducing their utility bills. Before installing a solar power package you should consider completing these affordable steps below.
Behavior: Every journey to cheaper utility bills includes analyzing your power behavior. This doesn’t mean you need to run around your home unplugging cell phone chargers and computers, but can be a simple way to reduce your bills. The most simple part of behavior reduction is turning off lights and fans when you are not in the room. Turning off TVs and computers when you leave a room for more than 15 minutes can also dramatically impact your power bill. Large appliance are one of the top 3 consumers of electricity in your home and making sure you are only running your dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer when they are full will provide a noticeable impact on your utility bills. Turning your air conditioner up a few degrees and using fans can help as well.
Insulation: Depending on the age of your home, there may be large gains to be made on your utility bills in the area of insulation. Most older homes are poorly insulated. Proper attic insulation is the cheapest and most effective way of insulating your home. It is recommended that you have at least 14 inches of blown-in-insulation in your attic. Crawlspace insulation can also make a huge impact. Taking steps to ensure proper attic and crawl space insulation could save you up to 15%-25% on your energy bills immediately. Your local utility company may pay for part of the installation of insulation or offer energy rebates.
Thermostat: There are many new thermostat options on the market today. Investing in a smart thermostat is an easy way to see sizable impacts on your utility bill. Smart thermostats learn how to save you energy based on your behavior. There is no programming involved with these smart thermostats, you set it and forget it and it learns how to save you money.
Lights: Lights consume about 25% of a homes annual energy. Turning lights off is the best way to save on energy, but replacing old incandescent bulbs with more energy efficient CFLs and LEDs will help reduce your energy bills about 10%. LED bulb prices are now affordable and LED bulbs can last for almost 15-20 years.
Solar Panels: Solar panels are the final part of an energy bill reduction plan. After all of the above steps are taken you should be able to properly size the most affordable solar power package for your home. When all these steps are taken and solar panels are installed you should see a reduction of 50% or more from your original utility bills.
