Keeping an entire house fully powered can be an expensive ordeal, but did you know that just keeping a cottage warm and fully lit can be costly too? Whether you just use your cottage as a vacation home or live there full-time, you might have noticed the high utility bills and wondered why they are charging so much for such a small home.
A tiny home does not necessarily mean living cheaply. As it turns out, there are plenty of ways that you can save money on those electrical bills. That way, your power can meet the needs of your smaller home without giving you the bills you would expect for a larger house. Try out these options to keep the money in your pocket.
Replace Older Appliances
Older appliances can be a real energy suck when they get on in the years. Replacing things like your refrigerator or your stove can be a way to save quite a lot of money on utility bills. Fridges, boilers, and other types of systems made in the past few decades have energy ratings that allow you to assess their efficiency.
For a boiler, try switching to a condensing boiler. It is more efficient at generating warm air and capturing all of the produced heat so that nothing goes to waste. Alternatively, if you use a wood-burning stove, you can not only use less wood to produce the same amount of heat, but you can also reduce the amount of smoke that comes out.
Many people dislike wood-burning stoves because of all the smoke that comes out, but if you use a higher-efficiency stove, you will not have to worry about inhaling all of that smoke, and you can save money on the energy bill. Pellet burning stoves generate even more heat and less smoke than wood if you want something even better.
When it comes to your living space, you want to find energy-efficient appliances. Although they may cost more to install, you will easily recoup the cost in the amount of money you save over the next few months on the smaller electrical bills.
Insulation
One major reason people spend so much money on electrical bills in cottages is from drafty doors or window frames. Solid hardwood floors can also develop gaps between the boards over the years that can let in cold air from the outside and force you to crank up the heating system just to make the cottage a comfortable temperature.
Another way to save money is to check the cottage’s insulation. Depending on when it was built and the building codes in the area, the cottage may only be partially insulated. By fully insulating the cottage, you can keep the pleasant air inside where the people are and the harsh weather elements firmly out of doors.
Get Rid of Extras
There are plenty of modern conveniences like dishwashers and dryers that are nice to have but may not necessarily be what you need. If you are concerned about downsizing your electric bill in addition to your living space, you might want to get rid of the appliances or things that consume electricity that you do not need.
Instead of using a dryer, why not try hanging your laundry outside? This might not be feasible depending on the location of your cottage, but people have spent hundreds of years hanging their laundry out to dry with great success. If you frequently wash your clothes, you might find that not using the dryer will save you a ton on electrical bills.
Alternatively, you could wash your dishes by hand or use paper or plastic dishes. Although disposable dinnerware is not so great for the environment, it does mean that you would save money on electrical and water bills by not running your dishwasher. If you want to be environmentally friendly, you can always just wash the dishes.
There are a surprisingly large number of appliances that, while convenient, are not entirely necessary for living a comfortable life. If you are looking to reduce your bills, you should go through the utilities you use and try to figure out if there is anything you can stop using or use less frequently to save money.
Make it Rain
For more enterprising people, you can use rain barrels to collect the rainwater so that nothing goes to waste. Always make sure that you cover the barrel with something to sift out the excess things like leaves, bugs, or twigs that might get in your water. However, rainwater is perfectly safe to drink or bathe in.
If you do not live in the cottage all year round, you can use large storage for the rain so that when you do come back to visit, you will have a large store of water so that you can save money on your water bills. Otherwise, you might return to find a positively overflowing rain barrel and water damage to wherever you placed it.
In a similar vein, you might invest in a tankless water heater. Normally, your water heater will always keep the water warm so that you can have hot water whenever you want, but if you do not live in the cottage at all times, you might be paying for hot water for a long time without ever using any of it.
Try Renewable Energy
The easiest way to save money on electrical bills is to find another way to get electricity other than your local utility company. By installing the kind of equipment that can harvest energy from other energy sources outside of fossil fuels, you will automatically save money because you will be using energy generated from the earth itself.
Solar Energy
One of the most popular renewable energy sources, solar energy, is harnessed by installing solar panels on your roof or in your backyard. If you can find an area in direct sunlight for the majority of the day, that is a great energy source. Depending on the manufacturer, you might be able to install the panels yourself.
However, for other companies, like Tesla, you will need to have the company itself, or one of their licensed affiliates, perform the installation in order to avoid voiding the warranties. At the moment, many local and federal governments offer financial incentives for people who install solar energy, but those are being phased out, so you should make your decision quickly.
The amount of energy you can generate from solar panels is heavily dependent on the size and efficiency of your panels and which appliances you use. Many types of small appliances and your lighting system should not be an issue for solar power, but larger appliances might be.
Wind Energy
If your cottage is in an area where there is a decent amount of wind, you might consider installing a wind turbine and taking advantage of the stiff breeze. Although not as expensive as utilizing geothermal energy, installing a wind turbine is more costly than finding and installing solar panels, so you want to make sure you can get your money’s worth.
Geothermal Energy
If you are near a decent-sized body of water, you might be able to take advantage of geothermal energy. By drawing the heat up from the Earth’s core, you can generate enough power to either cool your home off during the long and hot summers or warm it up during the frigid winters. Geothermal is one of the more expensive renewable energy options, however.
In Conclusion
For people who have been looking for creative ways to save money on their electrical bills, it is important to monitor your energy usage and determine what you really need and what can be eliminated. In addition, replacing older appliances and trying renewable energy can also reduce your bills dramatically.
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