| Are you trying to save on electricity? Well there is a | | | | me forever to find out what it really means: |
| lot more to saving money on electricity then running | | | | Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning. |
| around the house turning lights off. Consider the five | | | | Some houses have radiant heat while others use |
| following aspects of your life. Every one of these will | | | | wood stoves as their primary source of heat. It pays |
| influence your potential electricity savings. | | | | for you to pause for a period to think about your |
| 1) Your home and location. | | | | specific HVAC. It is, after all, the largest chunk of |
| This single fact alone tremendously affects and | | | | the energy budget in most homes. It's also the one |
| determines your energy usage. The amount of sun | | | | area that is affected most to fluctuations in |
| hours a house gets significantly affects the amount | | | | consumption. |
| of heating it needs to keep it comfortable. I had a | | | | 3) Your Family or Flat Mates |
| flat jammed between two houses so it never | | | | Heating and cooling costs are independent of the |
| touched the sun and i had to spend a fortune, just | | | | number of members of your family. Your energy |
| to keep it comfortably warm during the day. | | | | costs could vary because of personal preferences. |
| Also, the type of place you live in makes a huge | | | | 4) Water Usage |
| difference. Obviously if you live in a small, snug | | | | Water heating can be a significant part of your |
| apartment your costs are less than the family who | | | | power bill. This can vary depending on the amount of |
| lives in the historic Victorian four-bedroom house | | | | people in your household and their habits. |
| down the road. You have a smaller area to heat, | | | | 5) Ah, those little extras. |
| for one thing, and you have a fewer number of walls | | | | Don't overlook some of those not-so-necessary |
| that are exposed to the weather. | | | | areas of energy usage. Let's talk swimming pool. |
| 2) Your heating system. | | | | How about a hot tub? All those seemingly negligible |
| Specifically your HVAC. Not exactly familiar with this | | | | expenses all add up. |
| acronym? It's bandied about all the time and it took | | | | |