One of the first steps to saving money on your electricity bill is understanding what consumes the most power in your home. According to the United States Department of Energy, more than half of a typical home’s energy goes towards heating and cooling, 18% to heating water, and 6% for lighting. If you want to control how much energy you use, you should target these areas. Here’s some advice from reliable electrical services on how to save money on your electricity bill.
Switch Off Unnecessary Lights
The simplest ways to save energy are often the most effective. When looking to save money on electricity bills, you should start by limiting the amount of electricity you use. However, this doesn’t mean you should deprive yourself of certain comforts. One good way to limit the amount of electricity you use is to switch off unnecessary lights. For instance, there is no need to light up an unoccupied room. By switching off two 100-watt bulbs an extra two hours daily you can save $15 over the course of a year.
Take Shorter Showers
As mentioned before, a great chunk of the energy in your home goes towards heating water. While you can’t eliminate your need for hot water completely, you can at least use it wisely. For instance, you can start taking shorter showers. This will reduce the amount of work that your water heater has to do, leading to less energy consumption. Hot water can be quite expensive. If you and another person in your home cut down your shower time by at least a minute, you can save more than $30 over a year.
Unplug Unused Electronics
The majority of electronics being manufactured nowadays go into standby mode the moment you switch them off. This means they won’t really be off. Instead, some of them run updates in the background, and some don’t shut off completely, so they can power on super fast the next time you want to use them. Unfortunately, this consumes a lot of electricity. Standby power, also known as phantom electricity, can account for 10% of your household’s annual electricity use. You can stop this from happening by unplugging your electronics when you are not using them. This small action can save you more than $50 a year. Find out more about unplugging your electronics from reliable electrical services. You can also purchase power strips that make it easy for you to cut off phantom power.
Reducing your energy consumption is the best way to save on your electricity bill. Taking the time to see what’s consuming energy unnecessarily in your home is a simple and effective strategy. You can even do a home energy audit to get a clearer picture. Are you looking for reliable electrical services to help you save energy in your home? Get in touch with our team at Kazar’s Electric today.
Thank you for sharing such helpful tips! In winter, our bills usually increase as the daylight hours become shorter and we use more artificial lighting, and we also use a lot of energy to maintain a comfortable temperature in the house. In this article, we talk about how to minimize utility bills in winter: https://escoutah.com/are-you-looking-to-save-on-heating-your-salt-lake-city-home-this-winter/.
Thanks for sharing. If you have a swimming pool, you may also be wondering how you can reduce your energy costs on maintenance. After all, pools consume a lot of energy. Here are some tips for you:
1. Purchase a smaller, more efficient pump;
2. Lower your pool’s temperature;
3. Choose an energy-efficient heater;
4. Invest in automated pool features.
Thank you for bringing this up! Another thing I want to suggest will also benefit your wallet.
During the day, keep your blinds or curtains wide open to take advantage of the natural heat coming in. Start by locating any south-facing windows in your home — those are typically the ones that receive the most sun. This will keep your house warmer and can keep your thermostat lower. As a result, you will use less energy for lighting and heating your home.
Even more ideas are offered here: https://happyhiller.com/blog/5-ways-to-go-green-this-fall/. You should check it out 🙂
Thank you for these suggestions! You can also save on bills by installing a smart thermostat. Depending on the type of smart thermostat you choose, you could save anywhere from 12-23% on your heating and cooling costs.
When choosing a thermostat for your home, look for these 4 features: https://www.edelmaninc.com/4-features-to-look-for-in-a-smart-thermostat/.
Another way to reduce electricity bills is to replace outdated HVAC system with a new one. Old HVAC system are extremely inefficient.
In some cases, a few repairs may help.
In these cases, it’s better to make a replacement: https://polestarplumbing.com/news-media/take-advantage-this-fall-the-best-season-for-heater-replacement.
Good recommendations. Thank you for sharing! Another thing I suggest is replacing incandescent bulbs with LED lights. This is such an easy way to make a home more energy efficient.
Look how much you can save by installing LEDs: https://www.gervaismechanical.com/led-lights-how-much-can-you-save/.
If you use electricity to heat and cool your home, such a thing as a dirty air filter can also contribute to increased bills.
Also, remember that any air filter with a MERV rating higher than 13 will restrict airflow, which could make your HVAC system work harder and consume more energy. The best MERV rating for a home is somewhere between 8-10. These filters will capture a large portion of the airborne particles and improve indoor air quality without increasing energy consumption.
Thank you loads for sharing this!
We have some extra tips on how to save on bills in winter: https://www.sandersandjohnson.com/winter-tip-heating-january/.
You should check it out 🙂
Your AC can also be the cause of increased electrical bills. Look at these common indications of AC failure and fix it ASAP to prevent your unit from consuming more electricity than needed: https://servicetoday247.com/cape-coral/air-conditioning/ac-repair-maintenance/.
When it comes to reducing electricity consumption, remember that such a simple thing as clean HVAC system can also make a big difference. Dirty HVAC filters cause your system to work harder than it should due to decreased airflow. The harder your system works, the more energy it consumes. Happily, replacing air filters is an easy task. However, if you have never done this for the first time, you can hire an HVAC specialist to show you how to do it correctly.