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Are you sick and tired of paying an arm and leg for utility bills every month? You’re not alone. Millions of Americans are fed up with rising energy costs and are looking for ways to help save as much money as possible.
If you need help cutting costs, you’ve come to the right place. These are easy ways to keep your hard-earned money in your wallet each month.
1. Get an Energy Audit
When deciding where to cut your energy expenses, one of the first things to do is start with an energy audit, which will tell you how energy-efficient your home is.
Many utility companies like Utility bidder will conduct this service for free, so there’s every reason to use this resource.
2. Reduce Phantom Energy
Your electronics can suck up a lot of electricity by just being plugged in. Some of your electronics use energy even when they’re turned off.
The best practice is to use power strips and unplug the random electronics you don’t use daily. Don’t let these energy-sucking products raise your monthly bills.
3. Use Dimmer Switches
One of the benefits of dimmer switches is that they restart every two minutes, but you won’t notice it. Dimmer switches factor in how much energy is needed, measure it against how much is used, and adjust automatically. This means that your monthly bill could be dramatically lower.
4. Close Your Blinds
One of the quickest ways to heat up your home in the summer is to leave your blinds open and let the hot sun in. Closing your blinds or drapes can help keep your home cooler and reduce the need to turn up the thermostat on the air-conditioner.
5. Use Ceiling Fans
It’s expensive to run your air conditioning during the summer. While ceiling fans might not cool your home as much as an A/C, they can help.
Ceiling fans help circulate the air in your home and make your A/C unit work more efficiently. Combining the two, instead of relying entirely on your cooling unit, can help you save a lot of money.
6. Clean/Replace HVAC Filters
Regular cleaning or changing your HVAC filters helps promote efficiency, which lowers your monthly bill. Experts recommend cleaning permanent filters once a month, while media and pleated filters should be cleaned every six months. Cleaner air not only impacts your breathing, but it also helps when that monthly bill comes.
7. Wash and Dry Dishes by Hand
It’s not hard to wash your dishes by hand occasionally. Stop using extra electricity by doing the dishes the old-fashioned way.
Your dishwasher can drain a lot of electricity. If you’re committed to saving some extra cash, it is time to roll up your sleeves and start scrubbing some plates.
8. Use During Off-Peak Times
Many cities and towns offer off-peak rates for people who use their appliances during certain hours of the day. For example, running your washing machines during the peak hours in your city may be a higher rate than during the day.
9. Do Only Full Loads of Laundry
Speaking of laundry, washing only full loads instead of smaller loads helps lower your bill. It’s simple math. More loads equal more energy used, which means more money spent.
10. Low-Flow Shower Heads
The less water you use in a shower, the less energy you need to heat it. A low-flow shower head will help reduce the use of excess water. Some shower heads are so efficient that they can reduce water consumption from seven gallons per minute to as little as 2.5 gallons. Think about how much water that saves over a year.
11. Use a Programmable Thermostat
Installing a smart thermostat helps you program your home to change temperatures during different times of the day. For optimal efficiency, you can set the thermostat at different levels when you’re home, away, or sleeping. One of the best features is you can do it directly from your phone, even if you aren’t at home.
12. Use Weatherstripping
Gaps between doors and windows let in chilly winter air or release cool air conditioning. This makes your heater work harder to heat your home, and your A/C works harder to cool it. Weatherstripping can help block these gaps and keep you and your family warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
13. Insulating Paint
Consider insulating paint when you decide to paint the inside or outside of your home. This effective paint can help your home stay cool or warm more efficiently.
Studies have shown that insulated, painted walls in direct sunlight absorb 20% less heat than non-insulated walls. Maybe it is time to consider re-painting the living room this summer.
14. Install Motion Sensors
Stop yelling at the kids for leaving the lights on in every room by installing motion sensor lighting. These lights turn off automatically when there’s no activity in the room.
These highly functional lights can be installed both indoors and outdoors. Perimeter sensor lighting will save you money while also deterring thieves who want to loot your garage at night.
15. Use Blankets
If you really want to be thrifty this winter, you can ignore the heater and stock up on lots of blankets. Unless you live in the Arctic Circle, how cold can it get in your home?
I get this sounds like a crazy sacrifice, and many of you might think I’m crazy, but blankets and a movie sound pretty cozy to me. Give it a shot, but opting for a quilt once or twice a week might be an excellent trade-off for a lowered electrical bill.
16. Go Solar
How satisfying would it be to get all your energy directly from the sun, with no more crazy high electricity bills every month? Not only would you save a lot of money, but you’d also be going green and helping the environment.
This is a significant investment. If you’ve been considering going solar, now might be the best time to do it. Installing solar panels will eventually pay for itself with the money you save.
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