Don't allow your electric bill to give you a heart attack!
Yesterday, I stopped by our local electric co-op WRECC and had a quick chat with our friend, Rick Carroll. My mission was simple, I want to help my family and my readers reduce our electric bill.
Rick was full of some fantastic ideas that we can all do! All in all, it comes to making simple changes and upgrades and looking at our BAD HABITS!
* The first and most simple fix, turn off the lights & televisions when you leave the room. Just flip the switch or hit the power button!
* Shut your closets and cabinets when you leave them. Don't heat and cool spaces that are unnecessary to heat and cool.
* Move lights and lamps away from thermostats. The output of heat puts out a false reading to your thermostat that it's warmer than the room really is trigger the a/c in summer and not triggering in winter.
* Check your water heater - keep your water heat at the most energy efficient mark. Also, place your hand on the water heater. If it's cool or just barely warm, you are ok. But if you can feel a significant amount of heat, install a water heater blanket. This will help to insulate your water heater and reduce it's work load.
* Check doors - install weather stripping if you feel a draft through the closings. Also, caulk around the frame. This will seal leaks around the door jamb itself.
* Windows - Again, caulk around windows to reduce draft. You may look at a plastic kit. Rick himself purchased a plastic window sealing kit and was amazed at the results. Not only was it crystal clear after installed properly, but the savings was definitely something to talk about! He spend about $15 on the kit and saved about $80 over two months!
* Insulate outside wall switches and outlets. These foam insulators simply fit between the outlet and wall plates reducing drafts.
* Reduce range cooking during the summer. The heat output is amazing and will cause your a/c to run more to cool down the home. BBQ or microwave as much as possible.
* Run large appliances later in the evening. If you can do laundry or run your dishwasher closer to 8pm, this will help your bill.
* This one is really easy.... take a look at your plugs. Cell phone charges and laptops usually have a transformer that pulls electricity even when the phone isn't being charged or the computer is off. If you have a cord with a boxed plug or large box in the middle of the cord, this is a transformer. So, simply unplug the cord when you aren't charging your phone or computer.
* Switch to compact fluorescent bulbs. They may cost a little more, but they will use 75% less energy and last 10 times longer! This is HUGE savings in a short period of time!
*Shut your garage door! This will keep the heat and cold out.
* Let your cooked food warm to room temperature before putting in the fridge. Your appliance will work harder if it has to cool the food from hot.
* Install an oven light and peek through the window. Opening the door to see your progress lets the heat out causing the oven to have to turn back on to reach temperature again.
* Keep your freezer FULL! It works best this way and loses less cold air when the door is opened.
* Got a new TV? Put it on a power strip and flip the off switch when you're through watching. New TVs pull HIGH amounts of electricity.
* If you are using a TV for noise to deter break-ins when you're not at home, STOP! Instead, turn on a radio. You can save about 20% on that power.
* Got a new TV? Put it on a power strip and flip the off switch when you're through watching. New TVs pull HIGH amounts of electricity.
* If you are using a TV for noise to deter break-ins when you're not at home, STOP! Instead, turn on a radio. You can save about 20% on that power.
Heating and air
* Keep a/c at 78. Anything lower will increase your cost about 5% for every degree. Set your heat to 68. Anything higher will increase your cost about 3% for every degree.
* Install a programmable thermostat - In winter, run cooler at night and warmer during the day.
* Use less lighting when using the a/c
* Again, check your caulking around windows and doors to keep your heat and cool air inside your home! I can remember as a kid my parents saying, "We're not paying to heat the outdoors... shut the door!" Now, as an adult, I totally understand!
* Use the sun to your advantage. Open the curtains when it's cold to allow the sun to help heat your home. In the summer, shut them to keep the sunlight, thus the heat, out reducing the workload on your a/c unit.
* Change your filter EVERY MONTH. Do this when you get your bill as a reminder to change it!
* Don't cover your vents and return grills. This will affect your home's air flow and efficiency! Learn to love them with your lower electric bill!
Water heaters
* Upgrade your water heater to meet efficiency standards. Compare heaters for the best overall savings - look for the bright yellow stickers when shopping.
* Drain one gallon from your water heater a year to remove sediment from the bottom of your tank. Stop leaks before they start
* Turn off your water heater if you are going to be out of the home for an extended period of time.
* Low flow shower heads can reduce water use by 50% (Uhm, are you thinking double savings - water bill)
* Insulate bare pipes and your water heater.
* Don't rinse your dishes before putting in dishwasher. Modern dishwashers don't need you to. And you'll save again on your water bill too!
* Run your dishwasher only when it's FULL - double savings here too!
* Keep the temperature at 120.
* Fix leaky faucets! Once leak can add up to 200 gallon PER MONTH! Wow! That's huge!
Laundry
* Use the fast spin cycle to get as much water as possible. This will cut down on dry time.
* If you don't have a dryer that senses when your clothes are dry, check them early. Chances are your dryer is running long after your clothes are dry.
* Seal vents tightly and make sure they vent to the outdoors.
* Read your labels. Don't wash in hot water unnecessarily and ALWAYS rinse in cold.
* CLEAN THAT LINT TRAP! Remove lint after EVERY cycle!
* Use the proper load settings. If you are washing a small load, use the small load settings.
* Don't overload your dryer. Air needs to flow to dry your clothes. And the more you put in there, the more wrinkles you will have!
My 50 year old water heater sprung a leak just over a year ago. I spend the extra money and got a tankless water heater (why heat water when you're not using it) and there was an instant drop to my gas bill. In the summer when I don't use gas to heat the house, and its only hot water on my gas bill, it showed its true savings - less than 1/2!! Awesome savings.
ReplyDeleteThat's a FANTASTIC tip! My parents have reaped the rewards from having a tankless water heater, as well. It quickly started paying for itself! Kudos to you for taking the leap! I know your bills are VERY happy!
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