Apartment living can be difficult and expensive, even before the inevitable monthly utility bills come. Often the most obvious ways to lower overall energy and water costs are major rip-the-bathroom-plumbing-out kind of renovation jobs, such as painting your roof white to lower your heating and cooling costs. As a renter, these kind of changes are clearly not happening in a place you don’t own.
Here are some neat hacks to lower your utility bills a few bucks a month (that’s like two cases of Ramen) without needing to rip anything out of the walls.
1. Fix your drafts.
Drafty windows and poorly insulated doors are one of the most notorious offenders when it comes to rising heating and cooling costs. If you live in someplace cold and your apartment is like the Siberian tundra with 35 mile per hour gusts of wind, consider picking up a roll of weatherstripping tape at a hardware store. Simply tape up the places where the window components touch the actual building (you’ll notice a soft whistling as the winter winds rip through your soul). $10 later, your heat will stay in, the tundra will stay out, and everyone will be happier (including your wallet).
2. Waste less water on waste.
Reduce your water consumption by up to 10 gallons a day offsetting the water used each time the toilet flushes. Simply fill two 1-liter bottles with a few pebbles stolen from the nearest green space, top the bottle off with water, and place the bottles in the toilet’s tank, safely away from any operational components. Voila! An instant “low-flow” toilet without ripping your bathroom out and replacing it!
3. Wash your clothes in cold water.
If you are one of the lucky few blessed with in-building laundry (or the elusive “in-unit” laundry, which I’m convinced has attained unicorn-like scarcity) you can lower your individual or collective energy bill by simply washing your clothes and towels and credit cards and spare keys in cold water. Heating water in the washing machine itself accounts for 90% of the energy your washing machine uses. Less hot water means less dollars wasted on something silly like hot water and more drinks at the bar!
4. Do your energy-heavy chores after 8:00 PM.
In this case, your procrastinating on the dishes may actually be a good thing. Many energy companies offer “off-peak” discounts, which essentially means energy costs are cheaper when fewer people are using the systems — generally after 8:00 PM in your relative time zone. Doing your energy-heavy chores (like running the dishwasher, vacuuming, etc) at these off-peak times consistently can lower your electricity costs. Call your energy provider to find out the specifics of these programs in your area.
5. Don’t heat (or cool) an empty room.
Many have said (including my father) that keeping a consistent temperature in your house will lower your overall heating or cooling costs. Unfortunately for dad, the math just doesn’t work out. Raising your thermostat’s temperature in the summer and lowering it in the winter so the air conditioning or heat come on less regularly during the day (when most people are at work) can save you over $100 a year on energy.
