How To Save On Your Electricity Bills
The fastest way to save on your electricity bills is to find a cheaper electric provider. In certain states you can choose your electricity provider. You shop around and determine which electricity provider is the best for the money. This could easily cut your electricity bill by 24% or more.
Refrigerators. Makes sure you have a refrigertor made after 2004. These machines come on and go off all day long. When the refrigerators gets to warm it turns on and when it reaches the correct cool temperature it will shut off. Make sure your refrigertor temperature is adjusted correctly. To hot will result in your food going bad and too cold will result in a waste of electricity. Setting the refrigertor too cold will make the machine stay on longer. The larger the maching the more electricity it will use. A large refrigerator will waste electricity. You should buy a refrigerator big enough
for your household. Remember the smaller the refrigerator, the less electricity it will require. If you do not need a duluxe 3 door refrigerator, then do not buy one. Less food in the refrigertor makes it easier to cool. Over packing the machine will make it stay on longer. When you open the door, make sure you get it shut again within 10 seconds or quicker to keep all the cold air from escaping.
Turn it off if you don't use it. Don't use timers, just turn it off. Timers use electricity too. Look around your house and if you see any light or clock then it is connected to electrity. Buy stoves that do not need electricity to run. A basic electric stove with no fancy clock will save you on electricity. Buy a gas stove that does not have a clock or timer connected to electricity. Remember, if the item is wired into the electric plug then it is probably using electricity. The basic stove is easy to use.
Dryers. Big wasters, but you need them. Before the days of dryers people would hang their cloths to dry. Maybe you could hang a few items around the house. Set the timer correctly. If you only need 30 minutes to dry your cloths, then do not set the timer for 40 minutes. Gas dryers cost less to use than electric dryers.
Air Conditioners. This is the biggest money waster in a normal household. People will argue the point, but window units
use less electricity than a central air unit. If you have a 3 bedroom house, you probably only use one room at a time. Buy small air conditioner units (110 volt - not 220 volt) for each room and only turn them on when you use the room. Do not leave the unit on when you are not using the room. If you have 2 or 3 window units running all the time, then you should use a central air conditioner unit.
Here is a crazy one that really works. Go to your electric breaker box. Turn of any breaker you do not use. You might find that you have only 2 or 3 breakers on. Make sure your refrigertor is running. As you need the electricity, turn on the breaker and turn it off when not in use.
Easy methods to save electricty. unplug microwaves, vcrs, clocks you don't need, dvd players. Go around your household and check every electric outlet. If you find anything plugged into the outlet - trace the line - unplug the item if it uses electricity without being turned on. Leave it unplugged until needed.
Water Heater. Put a electric timer on a electric hot water heater. The heater will come on and go off all day long - even if you are not using it. Since you probably only use the hot water heater in the morning to take showers, then program a simple 100volt timer to have the hot water come on around 30 minutes before use and go off 30 minutes after use. This will usually keep enough hot water for another shower or one cloths wash. If you don't need it, then turn it off.
But before you spend money to save money by upgrading to the latest energy-efficient gizmos, check out the list of "no-cost-or-low-cost" tips for saving energy from EnergyIdeas.org in the links at left. The strategies listed maximize your "sweat equity" in reducing home energy consumption, including unplugging unused appliances, lowering the temperature on your electric water heater to 120 degrees F, and washing only full loads of dishes and air drying them.
You can also use free online calculators to get customized tips for improving your home's energy efficiency at Home Energy Saver, a Web site sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE).
Spending hundreds to save pennies generally doesn't make sense, but if you're already in the market for a new appliance, or even light bulbs, consider the Web your first energy-savings tool.
Climate control
A typical household uses the bulk of its energy for heating and cooling -- up to 44% of the utility bill, according to the DOE's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (EREN).
Programmable thermostats can reduce energy wasted heating or cooling a house when no one is home or everyone's asleep.
According to the Home Energy Saver site, Energy Star programmable thermostats can save as much as 20% to 30% on your heating or cooling costs by allowing for multiple daily settings and automatically adjusting when the outside temperature changes. Participating manufacturers include Honeywell, Hunter Fan and Smart Systems International. Unfortunately, it's not easy to search for programmable thermostats by Energy Star status. Instead, keep an eye out for those with features typical of the Energy Star thermostats: temperature recovery systems, two programs and four temperature settings.
Ceiling fans: Moving air tends to feel cooler, allowing for higher summertime thermostat settings. According to EREN, the effect is equivalent to lowering the air temperature by about 4 F (2 C), and using less energy than air conditioners in doing so. I found the best prices for 52-inch models by Hunter Fan at Hansen Wholesale, though there is a $28.50 "handling" fee that includes shipping.
Lighting, cooking and other appliances
The next-biggest household energy use after climate control is for lighting and appliances. Not counting the fridge, these comprise about 33% of a typical utility bill.
Compact fluorescent lamps (CFL's): CFL's use up to 75% less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer, according to Home Energy Saver. This is good, because they're also more expensive initially. I found the best prices at bulbs.com, both for individual bulbs and through its discounts for orders of 10 or more bulbs. Its price for an individual Phillips 13-watt, 2-Pin 840-lumen bulb is $2.77. The flat-rate $7.90 shipping charge is an added reason to order in bulk here.
Energy-efficient appliances: Using the Energy Star site as a starting point, I decided to search for Maytag washing machines. I found the Atlantis MAV9600 high-efficiency model for $689 at Best Maytag. With a $100 rebate from my utility's WashWise program, the price drops to $589.
Among household appliances, the refrigerator is likely your biggest energy consumer, especially if it's more than 15 years old. It can account for up to 9% of your energy costs alone. Again, use the Energy Star site for a list of energy-efficient m
odels if you're looking to replace yours.
Water heating
Heating water is the third-biggest home-energy cost and typically accounts for 14%-20% of your energy bill.
Hot water jackets: Because hot water jackets usually sell for $10 to $20, shipping charges for buying them online can easily increase their cost by 50% or more. It's best to use the Web to find offline deals in this case. At the Home Depot site, I found a $10 Frost King vinyl-cased fiberglass jacket for water heaters up to 60 gallons and used the online site to find the closest store. (If I'd needed to purchase an entirely new electric water heater, I could have taken advantage of yet another local rebate from my utility -- this one for $30 for one of the qualified models.)
Aerating, low-flow faucets and showerheads: Since a bathroom faucet aerator came in that free conservation kit with the compact fluorescent bulbs, I hunted for deals on efficient showerheads. Both Niagara and AM Conservation models popped up on a variety of environmental sites, including EnergyGuide, which also had the best price for the four-way adjustable Niagara showerhead at $6.75. The nice thing about ordering from EnergyGuide is that it automatically searches for any rebates based on the ZIP code you enter. It didn't help me with this purchase, but your search may prove more successful.
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