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Many homeowners in and around the Douglass, Texas, area waste a lot of energy without even realizing it. You may notice an increase in your utility bills, which is never a fun surprise. Avoid energy waste by stopping habits that cause your household to use excess energy.

• Keeping Appliances Plugged In: Leaving a cell phone charger plugged in when it’s not currently in use won’t waste a lot of energy on its own. However, when you multiply that small amount of waste times the various appliances in your home, you’ll quickly see why this is a bad habit. Unplugging appliances can help improve the overall energy efficiency in your home by 10 percent. Simplify this task by keeping only appliances plugged into a power strip. Then, you can just switch the strip off.
• Taking Long, Hot Showers: It’s hard to beat the warmth and comfort from a hot shower on a cold winter morning. On the other hand, this habit wastes a lot of energy as well as water. Adjust the water heater temperature setting so that it can’t go too high, helping to eliminate the temptation.
• Using Outdated Light Bulbs: Incandescent light bulbs are very inefficient, so if you have these outdated bulbs in your home, now is the time to upgrade. Compact fluorescents are better than incandescent bulbs, but the best option is replacing them all with LED bulbs. They’re more expensive up front, but they use substantially less energy.
• Running The HVAC With Dirty Ducts: Over time, the ducts that move cool and warm air from the HVAC system to your vents get clogged with dust, pet hair, pollen, dander, and other debris. Dirty ducts require the system to work a lot harder to heat or cool and move the air, and you’ll also suffer from poor indoor air quality. Get your ducts cleaned by an HVAC professional about once a year to combat this problem.

Learn more about duct cleaning and improved energy efficiency by calling McWilliams Heating, Cooling and Plumbing at (877) 936-1974.