节省水电费的八种简便方法

When it comes to saving money on your electricity and other utility costs, getting something like a smart thermostat or smart outlet to monitor and optimize energy usage can be helpful. But there are a ton of things you can do that require little to no money or effort, too. Here are eight really easy tasks to do around the house that will instantly save you money on your bills.

在节省电费和其他公用事业成本方面，使用智能恒温器或智能插座来监视和优化能源使用可能会有所帮助。 但是您可以做很多事情，这些事情几乎不需要金钱或精力。 这是整个屋子里要做的八项非常简单的任务，它们可以立即为您节省账单上的钱。

调低恒温器 (Turn Down the Thermostat)

Your heating and air conditioning use up a lot of energy, making your HVAC system one of the most expensive appliances in your house. You don’t need to freeze or boil to save money, though–tweaking your thermostat by just a couple of degrees can make a big difference.

采暖和空调消耗大量能量，使HVAC系统成为房屋中最昂贵的设备之一。 不过，您无需冻结或煮沸即可省钱-将恒温器调整几度即可产生很大的变化。

Specifically, turning up your thermostat during the summer by one or two degrees, and turning it down by the same increment during the winter, can save you a lot of money in the long run. And the best part is that you’ll barely notice such a small difference anyway. And even if you do, it’s unlikely to seriously disrupt your life.

具体来说，夏季将调温器调高一到两个度，冬季将调温器调低相同的增量，从长远来看可以节省很多钱。 最棒的是，您几乎不会注意到这么小的差异。 即使您这样做，也不太可能严重破坏您的生活。

Of course, you can also turn your thermostat off whenever you’re away for the day–which is doable with any thermostat. Or, you can schedule your thermostat to be higher during the day while you’re at work, and turn back down when you come home. With a smart thermostat, things are even easier: you can use its home and away modes to do it all automatically, turning itself up whenever you leave the house, and turning the A/C back on when you get home.

当然，您也可以在出门在外时关闭恒温器，这对于任何恒温器都是可行的。 或者，您可以将工作中的恒温器安排在白天升高，然后在回家时调低温度。 有了智能恒温器，事情就变得更加轻松：您可以使用它的居家和外出模式自动完成所有操作 ，每当离开房屋时就自动打开，并在回家时重新打开空调。

更加了解照明和电子产品 (Be More Conscious of Lights and Electronics)

If you’re one to easily forget to turn off appliances, electronics, and other devices that use up electricity or other resources, it might be time to kick it into gear and set yourself some reminders to turn these things off.

如果您很容易忘记关闭会消耗电能或其他资源的电器，电子产品和其他设备，那么可能是时候将其投入使用并给自己一些提醒以关闭这些东西的时候了。

We’re all guilty of leaving lights on, the TV on, and even the oven on, but make an effort every day to perform a quick sweep of your house to see if anything was left on. It takes less than two minutes and could potentially save you a bit of cash thanks to a little effort. And, if you have smart outlets and smart lights, most apps will provide a scheduling function so you can make sure the lights turn off at certain times, or even have them turn off automatically when you leave the house.

我们所有人都应为打开灯光，打开电视甚至打开烤箱感到内，但每天都要努力对您的房屋进行快速扫描，以查看是否还有任何剩余物。 它只需不到两分钟的时间，而经过一点努力，可能会为您节省一些现金。 而且，如果您拥有智能插座和智能照明灯，则大多数应用程序都将提供调度功能，因此您可以确保在特定时间关闭照明灯，或者甚至在离开家时自动关闭照明灯。

关掉你的热水器 (Turn Down Your Water Heater)

Your water heater is supposed to be heating your water only up to 120 degrees. Any hotter than that and there’s a high risk of scalding. However, many homes have their water heater set higher than 120 degrees.

您的热水器应该只能将水加热到120度。 除此之外，还有烫伤的高风险。 但是，许多房屋的热水器设定为高于120度。

A good way to test what your water heater is set to if yours doesn’t have a built-in thermometer is to simply run a faucet until it gets as hot as it can. Then stick a meat thermometer (or any other kind of thermometer) under the running water. If it reads higher than 120 degrees, you should turn down your water heater. This will not only save your skin (literally), but it will also save you money.

如果您的热水器没有内置温度计，则测试热水器设置的一个好方法是简单地运行水龙头，直到水变得尽可能热为止。 然后将肉类温度计(或任何其他种类的温度计)放在流水下。 如果读数高于120度，则应关闭热水器。 这不仅可以节省您的皮肤(从字面上看)，还可以节省您的钱。

Don’t worry, though, as 120 degrees is still plenty hot for washing dishes in your dishwasher and killing all the bacteria.

不过不要担心，因为120度仍然很热，可以在洗碗机中洗碗并杀死所有细菌。

更换您的HVAC空气过滤器 (Replace Your HVAC Air Filter)

When your HVAC air filter gets dirty, it reduces the airflow of your HVAC system, limiting its performance. From there, your house won’t be heated or cooled as efficiently as it could be, using up more energy and costing you more money.

当HVAC空气过滤器变脏时，它会减少HVAC系统的气流，从而限制其性能。 从那里开始，您的房屋将无法得到尽可能高效的加热或冷却，从而消耗更多的能源并花费更多的钱。

This is why it’s important to replace the air filter whenever it gets dirty, and it’s a super simple job that takes less than 10 seconds. We have a guide that includes info on air filters and how important it is to get the correct ones for your system.

这就是为什么每次变脏时都要更换空气过滤器很重要的原因，而且这是一个非常简单的工作，只需不到10秒的时间。 我们有一个指南 ，其中包含有关空气过滤器的信息，以及为您的系统获取正确的过滤器有多重要。

冬季用塑料覆盖窗户 (Cover Windows with Plastic During the Winter)

This isn’t quite as easy to do as other tasks listed here, but it’s a process that takes about an hour to do and can seriously cut costs during the entire winter. Covering your windows with clear plastic will seal off any drafts that let cold air in, while still allowing sunshine to pass through and heat up your house.

这不像这里列出的其他任务那么容易完成，但是这个过程大约需要一个小时才能完成，并且会在整个冬季严重降低成本。 用透明塑料覆盖窗户，可以封住任何使冷空气进入的通风装置，同时仍然让阳光通过并为您的房屋供暖。

Any hardware store and superstore (like Wal-Mart) will sell window plastic wrap kits, which come with a roll of plastic wrap and double-sided tape, for around $10-$20. The time and money that you put it into doing something like this will easily pay off many times over throughout the winter.

任何五金店和大型超市(如沃尔玛)都将出售橱窗保鲜膜套件 ，其中包括一卷保鲜膜和双面胶带，价格在10到20美元之间。 您花费在做这样的事情上的时间和金钱很容易在整个冬季得到很多回报。

Note that this may give the windows an ever-so-slight distortion. Most of these kits use crystal clear plastic that, when applied correctly, are actually not too intrusive. Just don’t expect them to be 100% invisible.

请注意，这可能会使窗户出现轻微变形。 这些套件中的大多数都使用透明的塑料，如果正确应用，它们实际上不会太侵入性。 只是不要期望它们是100％不可见的。

密封门窗 (Seal Up Doors and Windows)

If you don’t want to go the plastic route and want a more permanent solution, a better bet might be to use some weather stripping to seal up any weak points around door and window frames where cold air might be making its way into your house.

如果您不想走塑料路线，而想要一个更永久的解决方案，那么更好的选择可能是使用防风雨条来密封门窗框周围的任何薄弱点，以免冷空气进入您的房屋。

Weather stripping comes in all different shapes and sizes, so it fits in any specific gaps that you might have. It’s also really cheap. You could even get some spray expansion foam and use it to fill in the gaps around door and window frames.

防风雨条具有各种不同的形状和大小，因此适合您可能遇到的任何特定缝隙。 它也很便宜。 您甚至可以得到一些喷雾膨胀泡沫，并用它填充门窗框周围的缝隙。

打开和关闭您的阴影或百叶窗 (Open and Close Your Shades or Blinds)

During the winter, the sun is your best friend, but it’s your worst enemy during the summer. Because of this, take advantage of your window blinds or shades and leave them open during the winter to let that sunshine through and heat up your house. This acts a lot like a greenhouse, letting in the warmth from the sun, but keeping out the cooler air, so you don’t have to waste energy on the thermostat.

在冬天，太阳是您最好的朋友，但在夏天，它是您最大的敌人。 因此，请充分利用百叶窗或遮阳帘，并在冬季将其打开，以使阳光直射并为您的房屋供暖。 它的作用就像温室一样，可以吸收太阳的热量，但要保持凉爽的空气，因此您不必在恒温器上浪费能量。

During the summer, it’s best to keep blinds closed so that sun doesn’t shine through into your house. Of course, many people are big fans of large windows and letting in natural light, but it will take a toll on your utility bill as far as air conditioning is concerned. You can optimize this, though, by keeping blinds closed on east-facing windows in the morning, then opening them up in the late afternoon when the sun is no longer shining in.

在夏季，最好保持百叶窗关闭，以免阳光直射到您的房屋中。 当然，许多人都是大窗户的忠实拥护者，并允许自然采光，但是就空调而言，这将对您的水电费造成损失。 不过，您可以通过在早上朝东的窗户上关闭百叶窗，然后在午后不再打开太阳的午后打开百叶窗的方式来优化此效果。

洗衣时要用冷水 (Use Cold Water When Doing Laundry)

Every clothes washer has different water temperature settings that you can use, but to save hot water and prevent your water heater from working more than it should, it’s always a good idea to wash your clothes in cold water. In most cases, it will do just as good of a job as hot water would.

每个洗衣机都有可以使用的不同水温设置，但是要节省热水并防止热水器工作过度，用冷水洗衣服始终是个好主意。 在大多数情况下，它的作用与热水一样好。

Of course, you still might have some delicate clothing that requires hot water for washing, but most laundry loads can be washed in cold water without a problem.

当然，您可能仍会穿着一些需要热水才能洗的精致衣物，但是大多数衣物可以用冷水洗涤而没有问题。

You can also set your clothes dryer to a lower heat setting, but keep in mind that high heat will kill lice, fleas, and other bugs, as well as kill bacteria, so if that’s a focus for a certain load of laundry, absolutely dry with high heat. Otherwise, low heat can save you some cash in the long run.

您也可以将干衣机设置为较低的加热温度，但要记住， 高温会杀死虱子，跳蚤和其他虫子 ，并杀死细菌，因此如果这是一定量衣物的重点，则绝对要干燥高温。 否则，从长远来看，低热量可以为您节省一些现金。

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翻译自: https://www.howtogeek.com/267878/eight-easy-ways-to-save-money-on-your-utility-bills/