Easy Ways to Save on Your Electric Bill

With temperatures soaring, your electric bill is likely taking the heat. To help cool things off a bit, we’ve put together a list of easy, low-cost ways to help you save on your electric bill. 

Home Cooling Tips

Cooling your home takes up a considerable amount of energy, especially during the Summer. To cut back on these costs, there are a number of easy, low cost things you can do to save.

Set Your Thermostat as High as is Comfortable

This goes for when you’re at home, during the day and at night, and when you’re away from home. When you’re away from home, you should try to set it as high as possible, keeping pets in mind.

Utilize Fans

Fans require much less energy than air conditioning. While you can’t rely solely on fans to cool your home, you can utilize them as much as possible to move air around, making you feel cooler. During the Summer, you’ll want to set your blades to spin counter-clockwise. When fans are set to spin in this direction, they push air down, creating a cool breeze.

Change Air Filters Regularly 

When your air filters are not changed regularly, your HVAC system has to do much more work to do its job properly. To help make things smooth, be sure to change your air filter(s) as recommended. Depending on which air filters you buy, you’ll typically need to change them somewhere between 60-90 days.

Keep Air Vents Clear and Open

With changing your air filters comes keeping your air vents clear and open. It won’t do you much good to change your filters if the vents are closed or covered in dust.

Keep Window Treatments Closed

This one is simple enough! Simply, keep window treatments closed to keep out the heat.

Seal Air Leaks Around Doors and Windows

Air leaks around doors and windows can waste a lot of energy and money. A simple solution is to caulk or weather strip any areas that may be allowing air to escape. 

Tips for Efficient Water Usage

There are a number of ways to reduce energy usage when it comes to how we use water in the home. Here we have them broken down into 3 main areas: laundry, kitchen, and bathroom.

When doing Laundry:

• Wash your clothes in cold water whenever possible
• Wash and dry full loads
• When washing smaller loads, utilize your washer’s load-size setting
• Air dry clothes whenever possible

When in the Kitchen:

• Hand wash dishes as little as possible as this uses much more water than the dishwasher
• Be sure dishwasher is full (not overloaded) when you run it
• Let dishes air dry

When in the Bathroom:

• Limit time in the shower as much as possible 

Lights & Electronics

Would you believe that an average household dedicates about 6% of its total energy budget toward lighting and another 6% toward electronics? It’s true! As with home cooling and water usage, there are a number of easy, low-cost ways to cut back on your energy bill when it comes to lighting and electronics.

Use Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

There are many energy-efficient lighting options available to you. Some of the most popular are compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) light bulbs and light-emitting diodes (LED) light bulbs. CFL light bulbs last about 10 times longer and use about a quarter of the energy of traditional light bulbs. LED light bulbs also use about a quarter of the energy of traditional light bulbs, like CFLs, but LEDs last about 25 times longer than traditional light bulbs. While these light bulbs may be a bit more expensive up front, the savings in the long run are huge.

Turn off the Lights

In addition to switching up the type of light bulbs you use, try to get yourself and your family into the habit of turning off lights when they leave the room.

Unplug Electronics Not in Use

Electricity is consumed by any electronic devices that’s plugged in even when they’re turned off or in standby mode. To avoid this needless waste, be sure to unplug any devices when not in use, or better yet, utilize a power strip.

More Extensive Options 

All of the above tips require no installation of any kind. However, we’ve added some options that are a bit more extensive than what’s mentioned above but still simple and low-cost enough to make the list.

Install a Programmable Thermostat 

Setting your thermostat 7-10 degrees cooler can lower your electric bill by as much as 10%. To help make this easier, consider installing a programmable thermostat.

Install a Dimmer

Dimmers, along with timers and motion sensors, are a great way to reduce lighting usage and reduce your energy bill.

Replace Insulation

Insulation acts as a barrier to heat flow, so in the Summer, a well-insulated home keeps hot air out, drastically reducing energy usage. If your energy bill is unusually high, even given the heat, you may consider having your insulation looked at and replaced.

There are tons more things you can do around the house to save on your electric bill, we’ve only listed some of the easiest, most cost-efficient options to you. If you have any questions regarding additional steps you can take, don’t hesitate to reach out! Happy Summer and savings!

Note: all statistics from energy.gov.