The old fashioned incandecent tungsten bulb is going the way of the Dodo. The old type light bulbs are being phased out in favor of the newer and cheaper to run low wattage mini fluro light bulb.

They are usually a fair bit more expensive to buy but they last several times longer than the old type light bulb and they save a lot of energy too. So that saves you money.

It is said they can p[ay for themselves several times over compared to the cost of running the older tungsten bulbs for the same period of time.

Fit them all over the house and save yourself some money this year.

We all enjoy hot baths and showers but how hot do you need it to be? It costs you a lot for the energy to heat your water so if you set the thermostat to provide almost boiling water you are wasting a great deal of energy and a lot of money.

Most of us enjoy a hot bath but we don’t need scalding water. If you find you are adding a lot of cold water then you are probably setting your water temperature too high.

Save yourself some money by turning the thermostat down a little each week until you get to the point where the water starts to feel too cool and then turn it up just a little and leave it there. You will save energy and save money.

Most of us are trying to save some money on our home energy bills and money saved by installing energy saving devices is money saved year after year. So, there is no question it is worth the effort to install these things but where should we start?

We should start with the totally wasted heat that is lost as air leaks out of your house. That is warm air that you have paid to heat so don’t waste it. Draughty homes are less comfortable and more expensive to run than a properly draughtproofed home. You could save up to 10% on your heating bill just by curing draughts.

If you caulk, seal, and weather-strip all the gaps, seams, cracks, and openings to the outside air you can save a lot of cash and make your home more comfortable. Make certain that there is a sufficient air supply for heaters in your home. You should never seal a home 100% air tight.

A good way of finding leaks is to take a lighted cigarette or an insense stick and move it around the edges of your closed windows and doors to see if there is any air movement. Take care with the burning end and keep in mind that this will work best on a windy day.

You can also check around electrical sockets and plumbing where it enters the house. You should check anywhere that there is an opening or fixture that goes through the floor, wall or ceiling. If there is a gap you should see the moving air cause the smoke to move either towards the leak or away from it. Either way that is a good sign that there is an aire gap that could be sealed.

You can use weatherstripping, sealing, or caulking to close up the gap and prevent the loss of warm air and heating energy through the gap. If you have an open fireplace that is not used you could be losing a lot of heat up the chimney so if it is not being used see if it can be closed off. You may have a flue damper which can do this.