10 Best Ways to Reduce Your Power Bill


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Electric Bill Saver Tips

 

How to Lower Electric Bill

 

On our journey to financial freedom we have looked at every single category in the budget to get it to the lowest price possible.  

I would always skip over the electric bill.  My thinking was along the lines of “it’s power, gotta have it” and that was about it.  

Then a family member, who has had a lifelong career at a power company, came over to our house one evening and said jokingly, “I love coming over here.  All these lights you keep on means job security for me.”  

Ouch.  Literal lightbulb moment.  

I also like a good budget challenge.  I started to research and consulted with family member above (who was not as enthusiastic about my new goals) who confirmed all of my 10 best ways to reduce the power bill would work.  

In no particular order, here are the tips we tested for several months to see between a 10- 20% decrease in our monthly power bill! 

Every cent saved means one step closer to financial freedom so we’ll gladly change our habits to see these monthly savings! 

10 ways you can save on electricity

 

1- Leave the thermostat on one temp  

Constantly moving the heat or ac to different temperatures makes your heating and air unit work harder and uses more energy.  

Set the thermostat to one temp and leave it there for the best results on your power bill.  For us, staying at about 74 through the year is comfortable.  

You can adjust with the change of season and even put a reminder note on the thermostat, as often seen in work places to discourage constant adjusting. 

 

2- Unplug it

If you’re not using it, unplug it.  

This is easier when there are several appliances on a surge protector that you can unplug at once.  Usually, if anything has a light or clock on it, it’s using power and it may be something you rarely use.   

Obviously if it’s something you use daily, this might not be worth the hassle. But if you have something that’s rarely used, simply unplug it until it’s needed. 

 

3- Switch to LED lights

Change your incandescent bulbs to LED lights for lower energy consumption.

We have slowly but steadily been changing out every light in our home to LED. 

The benefits are not only savings on our power bill, but they will last much longer too, saving on time and maintenance.  

 

4- Use the oven less

Ovens are a huge energy consumer in most homes. 

Consider using the grill or a toaster oven to cook simple meals. 

A crockpot could also be used to make a meal that you’ll eat several times throughout the week.

You could also batch cook and freeze meals that are ready to go. That’s both a time and money saver from using the oven less often.  

 

5- Let clothing air dry

Let your clothing air dry outside or use a drying rack inside.  

A drying rack is an excellent way to see big savings on your power bill.

Anything in your home that pulls heat…the microwave, oven, hair dryer, clothes dryer etc. is a huge culprit of a high power bill.

Check out this cool energy use calculator to see how much an appliance, like the clothes dryer, costs you daily. If you can limit the use of those big appliances, you will see significant savings.  

 

6- Reduce hot water heater temp

If you can invest in a more energy efficient hot water heater, that will give you a great long term return on investment.  

If that’s not an option, reduce your hot water heater temp.  We did this when our son was big enough to turn on water by himself out of precaution and haven’t missed the hotter water setting at all.    

Sometimes you can receive a tax credit for switching to a more energy efficient hot water heater too. 

 

7- Turn off lights

This is typically the first thing that comes to mind when saving on a power bill yet it’s something we easily forget.  

One idea is to put a reminder near the light switches that get turned on the most.  

You may also find that you don’t really need the lights on until night. 

As homes are becoming more automated with tools like Alexa, smart lightbulbs can be used and set on timers. 

 

8- Improve Insulation

Improving insulation makes it easier for your home to maintain a set temperature.  

This was a project for us last year in our basement and we saw immediate improvement on our power bill and the temperature in our home.  

DIY spray foam insulation kits are expensive but one of the most effective ways to insulate a new home, an attic or basement. 

 

9- Close blinds or curtains

I love natural light so I’m always opening the blinds and letting the light in.  

But when we’re at work, through the hottest part of the day, it really makes more sense to close the blinds or curtains to reflect sunlight and keep our house cooler.

 

10- Wash dishes by hand

Wash dishes by hand when you can and skip the dishwasher to save on energy.  

If your dishwasher has a heated dry setting, turn it off and let the dishes air dry.  You can speed up the process by opening the door and placing any dishes that are still wet in a dish drainer on the sink or a microfiber dish drying towel.  

In the future, we’d really like to explore some solar panel options.  

Until then, these changes help us save between 10-20% each month on our power bill, and they can do the same for anyone.  Those who are very strategic and disciplined about reducing energy use could see major savings when it comes to the monthly power bill. 

Some of these tips are also dependent on location and climate. We live in an area that has mildly cold winters and hot summers. 

Most of the tips will work to lower your electric bill in the winter or summer. It really comes down to being aware of your habits and taking more effort to conserve electricity. 

 

Please let me know if I left something out! What tips or ways do you save on the monthly power bill?  

Misty

Join me in putting strategies and systems in place to simplify finances and home in order to spend time on the things and people that matter most. Feel free to contact me at [email protected]

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