October is recognized as National Energy Awareness Month. The U.S. Department of Energy spreads awareness about the impacts of excessive energy consumption and promotes initiatives to reduce individual energy use.

During this month and the rest of the year, it’s important to start thinking of ways you can improve your home energy consumption habits.

Below, we walk you through five ways you can start to save energy in your home.

Switch your light bulbs

Switch your light bulbs in your home from old, outdated lighting products with newer models that have a higher energy efficiency rating. Specifically, switch your light bulbs from standard incandescent bulbs to Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL). CFL lasts up to 10x longer, uses about 75% less energy and saves over $30 in electricity costs over each bulb’s lifetime.

Use Energy Efficient Thermostats

Did you know your thermostat is responsible for over half of your monthly energy bill? To help save energy and money, update your thermostat and program it to take advantage of its energy-saving capabilities. One of the ways to do this is to use a smart thermostat.

At Bonfe, we’ll give you the expert range of energy efficient smart thermostats and controls options from our trained and certified technicians, so you have the comfort and peace of mind to make an informed decision before any work is started.

Learn More: Smart Thermostat Installation

Turn off the lights

It just takes a flip of a switch. One of the easiest ways to save energy throughout the year is to turn off the lights in unoccupied rooms. This is a bad habit many of us need to break in order to quit wasting energy throughout our home.

Seal any cracks or crevices

It’s important for many reasons to seal any cracks or crevices around your home. One of the main reasons is, this lets out any heat you are trying to circulate throughout your home. If heat is being pushed through your home but you have cracks in your windows or door frames, it will leak out, wasting that heat and the energy used.

Quit your energy-wasting habits

Many people would be surprised by the impact their seemingly innocent habits have on your household energy use. Whether it’s falling asleep with the TV on or keeping electronics plugged in, there are many simple ways we waste energy. Making small adjustments to your daily habits can make a major difference on your annual energy costs.