How to Save Money on Your Electric Bill
Here are eight quick and simple ways to save money on your electric bill. These tips take only a few minutes to complete, but the savings can be monumental.
You don’t have to watch the news reports to know that prices are increasing on just about everything we use in our daily lives. From groceries to gasoline, rising prices are something we are all facing.
And that includes our electric bill. No matter where you live and what climate you experience, electricity is expensive.
However, there are some quick ways to save money on electricity whether you’re running your air conditioner, heater, computer, or appliances.
8 Ways to Keep Your Electric Bill Down All Year Long
Here are eight simple tips for saving money on the electric bill.
1. Disconnect You may ask, “does unplugging appliances save money on my electric bill?” The answer is yes! You will reduce your electric bill by unplugging your electronics when they’re not in use.
It’s not enough just turn off your computer, television, or electric can opener. Even items that are turned off pull electricity when they are plugged in.
To make it easy to disconnect, plug your devices into a surge protector power strip. Surge protectors are nice because you can flip the master switch off when you’re not using it, so you’re not wasting money on standby power. You definitely want to do this if you leave for a couple of days and when you go on vacation so you can reduce your electricity costs.
2. Energy-Saving Light Bulbs If you haven’t switched your bulbs to LED lights, now is the time! The US Department of Energy says that LED bulbs use at least 75 percent less energy (and last 25 times longer) than regular incandescent lighting. This is one of the most convenient ways of how to save money on your electric bill without living in the dark.
3. Laundry Your washer and dryer use a significant amount of electricity. Next time you do a load, consider using cold water instead of hot. That’s because 90 percent of the electricity used to wash clothes goes toward heating the water.
4. Use Energy-Saving Appliances When it is time to replace your large appliances, consider buying the most energy-efficient models you can afford. Look for the ENERGY STAR® label to guarantee the costs savings. This means the appliance is independently certified to save energy without sacrificing features or functionality.
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And consider this; if you have a refrigerator or freezer in the garage, rethinking the location will help save money on your electricity bill. Your garage gets so much hotter than your house and it requires more power to keep the fridge cool. If at all possible, keep all refrigerators and freezers inside the house to maximize their efficiency and reduce your costs.
5. Timing Matters The time of day you use your washer, dryer, oven, and other appliances can also save you money. Many power companies use different rates for different hours of each day. This means you may be able to reduce power costs by using major appliances at off-peak times when the cost of electricity is lower. It is so easy to save this way!
6. Programmable Thermostat Your heating and cooling systems use the most electricity in your house. So naturally, you want to know how to save money on your electric bill with your AC in the summer and how to save money on your electric bill in winter when heating your house.
The experts say that you can reduce your heating bill by about two percent for each degree that you lower the thermostat. Wow!
An even better way to save money on your electric bill is by investing in a smart thermostat. Using the latest technology, a smart thermostat allows you to program the temperature according to the time of day. It’s a great solution on how to save money on electric bill in the summer so you don’t run your AC when you’re away from home.
And if you forget to turn off your heating or air when you leave the house, a smart thermometer can be accessed remotely. No one wants to wind up heating/cooling an empty home.
The bottom line is that this technological marvel will make a huge difference in your electric bill.
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No matter what you do with your thermostat, be sure to keep your air filters clean regularly in order to save energy. Waiting a long time to change your filter makes your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system less efficient and costs you more in electricity.
7. Invest in a Small Room Heater or Fan These past two years, more people than ever are working from home and using energy. Instead of using your central system to warm or cool an entire home, you can use an efficient space heater or fan to control the temperature in your office or workspace.
This is an especially great tip for how to save money on your electric bill in an apartment. When you rent, you often cannot control the type of appliances or other big items. But you can take charge of how much heat and air conditioning you use.
8. Insulate and Seal Your Home Insulation is the protection that enables your home to maintain its temperature. Poor insulation can add hundreds of dollars to your electric bills over the course of a year.
Another one of the best ways to save money on your electric bill is to check the seals on your windows and doors. A bad seal allows energy to seep out, draining your wallet in the process.
Do whatever you can to make your home’s air barrier airtight. Oftentimes, windows and doors are the greatest culprits of costly drafts that keep your HVAC system working extra because of the loss through these areas.
Start Saving Now!
According to the US Energy Information Administration, the national average monthly electricity bill for residential customers in 2020 was $115.00. That is over $1,300.00 every year!
The good news is that there are effective ways to lower your energy costs. And best of all it won’t require you to sacrifice any of your daily comforts.
Most of these tips should only take a few minutes to complete, but the impact on your bill and knowing how to save money on your electric bill will last a lifetime.