Middle Class Millionaires

Most owners would love to shave a little off their ongoing utility bills. If you pay for utilities in any of your properties, here’s a simple way to start saving soon and keep saving forever. It also works in your home.

If you reduce the temperature in your property by only one degree during the cold months when the furnace is running and increase it only one degree during the hot months when the air conditioner is running, you will save between 3 and 5% of the monthly cost of heating and cooling. That’s really quite amazing when you stop to think about it. Chances are that you and your tenants or residents won’t notice the difference in the temperature, but you will notice the difference in your bank account. So why not go change your thermostat right now and start saving today.

Once you are saving this utility expense, make sure you do something smart with the money. Here’s another idea for reinvestment in the property that will even further reduce your utility bills. Use the savings from the one-degree differential explained above to buy a water tank to place between your water heater or boiler and your water supply in order to compound your savings long term. By installing this tank, you will provide for the cold water to enter your water heating system only after resting and warming up a bit in the holding tank. While the water is waiting for its turn in the boiler/water heater, it will warm up a significant amount all on its own. The water in the tank will get warmer by bleeding off much of the cold as it sits in an environment that is already heated by both your heating system and the additional heat produced by the water heater while it works to increase the temperature of the water already in it. This can be compared to sitting a glass of cold water on your kitchen counter and coming back later to a warm drink. Chances are that your furnace is in the same area as your boiler or water heater and likewise the heat it produces will help “prewarm” the water in the tank. Obviously, you won’t want an insulated holding tank.

By using this warmer water from the holding tank instead of straight from the much colder typical supply, your water heater will have to work much less to bring the water up to temperature for use in your sinks, showers, washer, etc. It is easy to see that if your water heater only had to increase the temperature of your water by 50 or 60 degrees instead of 80 or 90 degrees you would save big on utilities. Your water heater or boiler will also last longer, saving you even more over the long run.

As always, Middle Class Millionaires is happy to help in building your financial success with real estate.