Heating and cooling billers must be the highest on the list of things on the monthly budget. Every family is always looking for the chance to lower the energy bills at home. Efficient use of home appliances and HVAC systems is one of the surest ways of reducing the bills.

Basic preventive maintenance and good energy preservation practices will go a long way to achieve just that.

Shady Games

Get this. Planting trees around the house will break the sunlight coming into your home. Most heat that builds up in the house emanates straight from the sun shining through the windows or on top of the roof according to an energy conservation trainer I met during a workshop on energy conservation I attended last year.

Planting leafy trees around the house will help provide shade on the house’s exterior and also lower the amount of heat and light that gets into the house. Trees and shrubs can also shade the air conditioner which could increase the efficiency of the system by near 10% according to US Department of Energy.

Don’t cool the Hood

When your house is new and well finished, it tends to retain a the cooling within its walls and operate your cooling systems efficiently. Now an older house has a different story. Leaks from wear and tear over the years start to play their part in the loss of cold air from the inside. A quick check around your window panes and other places will tell you if you are cooling the neighborhood more than you cooling your home. This mini audit can get give you enough information on whether it’s time to have the windows and doors checked and refitted, pipes checked and replaced, or whether you need professional HVAC repair. This may seem like it will dent your wallet but believe me, over time, it would be worth the trouble.