12 Ways To Keep Your Energy Bill Low

As soon as you moved out on your own and started paying your own utility bills, you likely had a rude awakening about the cost of energy. If you’ve never thought about something like electricity usage before, it can take a minute to get into the habit of not just turning off lights when you leave a room, but also taking into consideration the other appliances in your home.

 

If you’ve noticed your energy bill increasing every year, it’s not just you. While we have to accept that energy prices will continue to fluctuate throughout the year and during different seasons, you can still gain control and reduce your electric bill.

 

Wondering how to reduce your electric bill? Follow these eight simple — but important — tips around your home or office to keep more money in your pocket, while contributing to a more eco-friendly environment. The obvious solution to the need to save money and energy is to look into things like energy-efficient appliances, solar panels or energy-conserving outlets. Unfortunately, those all cost money. So what’s an environment- and budget-conscious person to do?

 

1. Check your air filters

 

When was the last time you changed your air filter? According to the experts, you should change it at least once a month to keep your HVAC in prime condition. HVAC accounts for 25% of your energy bill, and when you regularly change air filters, you can reduce energy use by 15%.

 

Dirty filters make it harder for your HVAC system to pump air throughout the house, which can lead to higher energy costs. Clean filters mean your system is operating in prime condition, saving more energy and money in the process.

 

Set an alarm on your phone to change your air filter once a month. Buy a bulk pack of filters and have them at the ready so changing your air filter is a no-brainer.

 

2. Conserve water

 

As well as being good for the environment, conserving water, in this case hot water, will also be good for your pocket. 

 

As mentioned above, heating water uses a lot of energy so make sure you don't waste it.

 

When washing your hands, brushing your teeth, or rinsing the dishes, don't leave the hot tap running too long as you're literally pouring money down the drain. And it goes without saying that a shower will usually use far less hot water than a bath, particularly if you invest in an Echo shower head. So save getting into the tub for when you genuinely need a long and relaxing soak! Or better still, go all out on a walk-in shower and get rid of the bath tub altogether.  

 

3. Get an electricity monitor and find out which gadgets are the biggest energy hogs

 

 

Electricity monitors are becoming more and more popular and their manufacturers reckon you can knock at least 10% off your bill if you know which gadgets and appliances are using the most energy. They are pretty simple - a little clip goes around the mains cable at your meter and tells a small portable monitor in your home how much electricity you're using in real time. If you turn on the kettle or the dryer, you can see the numbers on the monitor jump up. What surprises most people is the other stuff that uses lots of energy.

 

When I got a monitor, the biggest surprises were the electric shower (by far the biggest electricity hog in the house), the microwave, and all the stuff connected to my TV. Now if I'm not using the xbox, it stays off, and if I'm not watching TV, I turn everything connected to it off at the mains.

 

You can get wireless electricity monitors cheaply in electrical shops or online, and I've had lots of fun walking around the house with it while switching stuff on and off.

 

4. Use the ceiling fan properly

 

 

Ceiling fans help you improve your building’s cooling circulation. While it costs $0.36 an hour to run the AC unit, it costs just $0.01 an hour to run a ceiling fan.

 

Ceiling fans make your room feel four degrees cooler, which means you can get by setting the AC at a higher temperature. You’ll, therefore, use less of the expensive energy produced by your AC unit and more of the cost-effective ceiling fan’s to stay cool.

 

But you have to use ceiling fans right.

 

Only run them when you’re in the room and make sure you adjust the ceiling fan direction seasonally in order to save both money and energy.  For example, ceiling fan blades should rotate in a way that produces a cool downward airflow in the warmer months, and there should be no movement when it’s cold outside.

 

5. Seal your ducts

 

Air ducts pump heated or cooled air throughout your building, but if there are gaps or holes in your air ducts, then air is leaking out — which is a very expensive loss. When you’re paying hundreds of dollars to power your HVAC system, make sure that energy doesn’t go to waste by sealing your ducts.

 

You should check your ductwork for leaks at the start of every new season. You can do this yourself, but it might be best to have a professional seal the ducts for you. Sealed ducts can improve efficiency by up to 20% and even improve indoor air quality. It’s a win-win for your pocketbook and your lungs.

 

6. Conduct a home energy audit

 

Every building has its energy hogs. But you’ll never know which inefficiencies are costing you the most money until you do a home energy audit.

 

Go with a professional to audit your home’s energy efficiency. With tools like infrared and gas, they can help you identify leaks and energy-hogging appliances that are negatively impacting your financial health. Once you know where the problems are, you can make adequate adjustments to your routines in order to reduce your energy consumption and lower your electric bill.

 

7. Fix leaky faucets

 

A leaky faucet that drips at the rate of one drop per second can waste 3,000 gallons of water every year, That high volume of water is the same amount required to take about 180 shower — and it’s all wasted because of a faulty or old faucet. This leakage also causes your water heater to constantly cycle hot water, driving up your energy costs over time.

 

Fortunately, leaky faucets are an easy fix. If you’re handy, try replacing o-rings and seals to solve the problem. You can also use low-flow fixtures, update your shower-head, or install an aerator to minimize the occurrence of leaks — and lower your electricity usage.

 

8. Buy low energy lightbulbs

 

Like the immersion, we know that they'll save us money but most of us don't know exactly how much of an impact they'll have.

 

An LED lightbulb uses around 80-90% less electricity than a standard bulb and will last up to 10 times longer. Replacing just one bulb will save you around $6 a year in electricity. So replacing all the lightbulbs in your home could easily save you up to $60 a year depending on how many lights you have. Not bad!     

 

9. Give your tumble dryer a rest

 

Tumble dryers are big energy guzzlers so dry your clothes on a clothes horse or washing line on mild and dry days (not a regular occurrence in Ireland we'll admit!). However, when you are using your dryer, separate your clothes into lighter and heavier loads and consider buying some dryer balls to place into the machine with every load, as they can save you up to 25% on drying time.

 

Charles Waterstone, a business writer at HuffPost and Ukservicesreviews advises-“You should only put your clothes in for the minimum amount of time possible: if they come out a tiny bit damp, you can always place them in the hotpress to finish drying off overnight.”

 

10. Cook clever!

 

In most homes the oven will use about one third as much energy for every minute of usage as the electric shower. In other words, an hour of cooking is roughly the same cost as a 20-minute shower, unless you're using an uber-efficient A+ rated oven. So cooking smarter can really help you save on your bills. 

 

Firstly, make sure you use a timer when turning on the oven so that you know exactly when it's reached the right temperature. And when you hear the alarm sound, make sure you put your food in immediately so you're not wasting money heating an oven with nothing in it.

 

When your food is nearly cooked, turn off the rings/oven and use the built up heat to finish cooking your food. Your oven will stay at the exact same temperature for up to five minutes or more. Depending on usage you could save up to $20 a year just by making this one small change. And when you’ve finished cooking, keeping the oven door open while the oven cools down can help heat your home if it's cold outside.

 

11. Pull the plug

 

Even turned off, many appliances keep drawing power. Called "standby" electricity loss because it's so often associated with electronics in standby mode, it's also known as "phantom" or "vampire" electricity (for obvious reasons).

 

Standby energy can account for 15% or more of the total electricity used by appliances or $50 or more to the average household's annual electricity bill. So pull the plug on the laptops, TVs and other appliances before going to bed. Not only is it safer, it’s also more economical.

 

12. Think smart

 

Ellie Stead, a business journalist at Simplegrad and Ratedwriting says- “Smart devices allow you to remotely control your home's heating and lighting via your smartphone or an internet-connected device. This means you’ve more control over your heating and lighting, which allows for greater convenience and savings on your energy bills.”

 

For example, if you’re stuck in traffic after work and will be an hour late getting home, you can easily set your heating to come on later for you, so you're not wasting money heating an empty home.   

 

 

Summary

 

As a homeowner or renter, you are using an extraordinary amount of energy in your home. You use energy differently than your neighbours. If you and your family live in a 3,000-square-foot home and your neighbour lives in a 1,000-square-foot apartment, you’re not going to use the same amount of energy. You have more space than your neighbour, making for more room to light, heat, and cool your home. You’re also likely to have more appliances that you might use daily. You likely use more than double the amount of energy that your neighbour with only a third of your square footage uses.

 

But don’t think you have to downsize to save a lot on your energy bill. There are ways to cut down on energy use, making you a money-saving energy-efficient pro.

 

It’s also important to consider that to help reduce their peak power demands and save money, many utilities are introducing programs that encourage their customers to use electricity during off-peak hours. The programs pass on the savings to you, the customer, through rebates or reduced electricity rates.

 

Smart meters and home energy management systems allow customers to program how and when their home uses energy. Such programs might charge you the actual cost of power at any one time, ranging from high prices during times of peak demand to low prices during off-peak hours. If you are able to shift your power use to off-peak times -- such as running your dishwasher late in the evening -- these programs can save you money while helping your utility.

 

Time-based rates are very attractive to owners of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles since typically these vehicles are recharged at night. See buying and driving fuel efficient and alternative fuel vehicles for more information.

 

Emily Henry is a content writer for Top Essay Services and Top Canadian Writers. She has a very patient husband of over ten years, who is her biggest supporter. She also contributes her work to websites such as Essay Services.