There’s no doubt that a hot shower does wonder to soothe a person, especially after a long day of work or a night out in the cold. That being said, how much more relaxing is a 140-degree bath than a 120-degree one? By default, most hot water heaters come from the manufacturer with a temperature setting of 140 degrees. This is partly to astound the customer when they feel how instantly warm the water is and also to eliminate the slight risk of passing on legionella bacteria. By turning down the water heater to 120-degrees, a homeowner can expect to save up to 10 per cent on energy costs and reduce the risk of scalding.

We’ve all been preached to about how much money goes literally down the drain when the water is left running while brushing teeth in the morning. Most of us have curbed that bad habit but we can make the morning and evening routine even more energy-friendly with the use of low flow faucets. These devices can reduce water usage by 20-50 per cent a year by either mixing air within the water or lowering the output from around 2.2 gallons per minute down to 1.5.

There are devices that sell for around $20 that can be hooked up to appliances such as a washing machine to detect leaks and overflow, and subsequently, shut off the device or shut down the water supply. These small units provide sound peace of mind when you start a load of wash and leave the house and could save thousands of dollars in damage if a washer were to overflow and drip down into the drywall of the room below. 

Another drain on your energy bills is a leaky toilet. A toilet that is constantly dripping or refills every 20 minutes can waste up to 7,000 gallons a month. It can take as little as $3 to fix a bad flapper and can save you up to $840 in a year. If you replace that toilet altogether with a low flow model the savings can be well over $1000 in a single year.

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