Save money on gas bills with small changes
Small changes let you save money on gas bills. Saving on gas bills is important as you can save a lot if you pay attention towards how you use gas and appliances . There is always room for improvement in each and every sphere of life. Saving on energy bills is one of them. Gas prices are on all time high. We cannot just goon using it without paying attention on how to save gas.
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1.Switch providers
Switching providers is the single one step which can save you lot of money. Have an eye on when the providers have discounts for signing up with them. I changed my provider just 4 months ago and it has really helped me in reducing my bills to great extent.
Also pay your bills on time which can lead to save on discounts provided your energy company allow this. What I have seen is most companies give you pay on time discount. Take advantage of this and save on bills.
Gas heating and cooking
2. Stove tops
If you cook a lot on stove top like me, you can really save a lot on gas. Cooking in bulk saves you lot of gas. I make lot of my Indian curries. Most or all of them require a base of onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes. I cook that base all together for one week.
There is always a difference in the amount of tomatoes required to be added so I add them when I start cooking some particular dish.
3. Ovens
While using oven, thaw food first and then cook in oven. Switch off the oven earlier and let the food cook in heated environment. As we know, oven remains heated for sometime even after switched off.
Batch cook and cook different type of items together. Bulk cooking saves lot of energy.
4. Soak the legumes and beans before cooking
Soak all the legumes and beans before cooking because it will help in softening the legumes. After soaking, they always require less time to cook. Soaking helps not only in reduction of cooking time but also increasing nutritional value.
Legumes contain some anti-nutrients like Phytic acid. These anti nutrients break down while soaking, increasing the nutritional value of legumes and beans.
5. Pressure cook wherever possible
For cooking lentils and beans, it is always best to use pressure cooker. Pressure cooker helps in cooking fast by using steam for softening the hard dried beans. Steam penetrates into the food easily and fast and it helps in restoring the nutrients which otherwise get lost with heat.
6. Skip preheating part
Some food products have the label of preheating before cooking on gas stove. Skip this part and heat directly on flame. It will save you some gas as you have to heat your oven first and then cook it on gas.
Heating/cooking directly takes less time and eventually less gas.
7. Cook with lids properly closed
Cooking with open pans let the heat escape which takes more time to cook. To save from this, always cook with closed lid pans. I know these seems to be very simple things to do but believe me, they makes a big difference in energy bills.
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Water usage
You will be surprised to know that water usage has lot of impact on gas bills. If you control how you use your water, you can reduce your gas bills to great extent. How the water is heated and to what temperatures, impact the bill you will get.
8. Choose water heating systems wisely
There are two types of water heating systems. Constant and instantaneous. Constant water system heat water and keep stored. But instant water heating systems heat water as required. It means constant heating system will keep water heated in a tank. while instantaneous will save you money because it will need less gas than constant one.
9. Look at the energy rating of appliances
While buying any appliance, look for the one with higher energy rating. Those appliances which use less water will eventually use less gas as it will require less heated water. It will save you electricity if your hot water system is electricity operated or gas if it consumes gas for heating.
10. Less time in shower also helps in saving money on gas bills
Your gas bill also depends a lot on shower time of you and your family. More water you use , more gas will be needed to heat water. More hot water you use and more time you spend in shower, more energy will be required to heat water.
11. Use dishwasher properly
Use your dishwasher only if you have lot of dishes to do. Wash only one or two utensils with hands. Or first load the dishwasher fully and then start the dishwasher. It will save you not ony water but the gas required to heat the water.
12. Washing machines
Wash clothes in cold water if possible. And use the washing machine with higher rating. This will save you water, electricity and gas.
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House heating
13. Less usage of house heaters
In winter, gas bills rise exponentially. Use heated system as less as possible. Even if you will reduce the usage for few hours, it will let you save lot of money on gas bills. Buy some warm clothes to wear in winter.
14. Dress properly and remain warm
Always dress according to the season. In winter, use your warm clothes fully. Try to combat the cold with by dressing properly. And keep your thermostat bit lower. If you like to heat your home to 24 degrees, try to keep it at 23. Then reduce it to 22 in winter.
You will see the difference in your energy bills.
15. Trap the heat inside by insulating your home
Most of the houses are insulated to keep either cool or warm. Always keep your insulation checked and maintained to avoid any leaks. While heating the house, keep all the windows and doors properly shut to keep all the heat trapped inside.
These are my favourite ways to reduce bills. If you have ideas to keep reduce the gas bills, please share in comments. I always look for reducing bills and saving money because we are living on single income and we cannot spend money mindlessly. I will appreciate more ideas to save money.
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