Ways to Save Electricity at Home
When trying to get out of debt the first thing I did was take a hard look at all of our bills to see which ones we could cut out or reduce.
The first expense we cut was our grocery bill because it was one of the highest on our expense sheet.
From there we reduced our heating bill, phone bill, and car insurance.
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I never looked that closely at our electric bill.
Other than going around turning off the lights behind my husband and kids, I mainly saw this utility bill as a set expense.
I was wrong! There are always ways to cut a bill.
How we save electricity in our daily life.
#1 CURTAINS
In the cooler months opening your curtains and letting the sunlight in to help heat your home is one way to save money on your heating bill.
In the warmer months close your curtains to block the sun from getting in and heating up your house. This will help reduce your electric bill and save money on your air conditioning.
If you want extra savings, consider investing in some affordable blackout shades. They are insulated with a five star rating.
#2 CEILING FANS
Have your ceiling fans to rotate counter-clockwise to circulate air throughout your house and help push cool air down.
Most fans have a small button on them to change the way they rotate or there is a button on the remote control.
#3 PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTAT
Another way to save on your electricity at home in the summer is by increasing the temperature when you leave the house or turn off the air conditioning altogether, which I’ve read is the most energy saving way despite common belief.
With a programmable thermostat you can easily turn the air on just an hour or two before you get home and it’ll be nice and cool.
I’ve been considering getting a smart programmable thermostat like the Ecobee and the Nest because they both have apps to track your usage and allow you to make adjustments on your phone. If you’re considering getting one, here is a helpful review page to start your research.
#4 CLEANING
Cleaning the lint trap of your dryer will help maximize your dryer’s efficiency.
Clean all indoor and outdoor air vents to maximize air flow and avoid any clogged vents that could be a fire hazard.
Related posts:
* Clean your house in under 2 hours
* How to keep the house clean with kids
* Save money on your grocery bill
#5 DRY LAUNDRY OUTSIDE
Especially in the summer months, hang your clothes outside to dry on a clothing line or a clothes drying rack. This is the one my mom just gave me and I love it!
Drying clothes outside will save on your electric bill and clothes dry faster and smell nicer.
Comforters and blankets take a long time in the dryer. The other day they dried outside in just 20 minutes because it was so hot out.
#6 SWITCH TO LED
LED lightbulbs last longer and are much more efficient than traditional light bulbs.
#7 TURN OFF UNUSED ELECTRONICS
You may not know this, but even if an appliance isn’t “on” it still draws electricity.
E.g. cell phone charger, coffee pot, toaster, etc.
I’m always going around unplugging anything that won’t be used for awhile.
#8 LOWER HOT WATER HEATER TEMPERATURE
By lowering the thermostat on your hot water heater a few degrees you can significantly cut your electric bill.
We played around with the temperature when we had our old hot water heater replaced and we don’t even notice a difference.
#9 LAUNDRY
To cut your electric bill make sure you do full loads of laundry. You don’t want it to be packed, but don’t waste water and electricity running an almost empty load.
Use cold/cool water whenever possible to cut your electric bill even more.
#10 DRYER BALLS
Using dryer balls are a great way to help your clothes dry faster, get rid of wrinkles, and soften fabric.
#11 OFF PEAK HOURS
I never knew that many electric companies offer different rates for “peak” and “off-peak” hours.
E.g. If I run my dishwasher at a non-peak hour let’s say early in the morning instead of at 5PM a peak hour I could spend 5 times less money. *mind blown*
Call your electric company to see if they do the same and if so the difference in rates. This change alone could cut your electric bill a few hundred dollars a year.
#12 OVEN USE
Our kids love pizza, frozen and fresh. When we heat slices up for them we use our toaster oven instead of our big oven. It heats up faster and uses a lot less electricity.
My sister uses this toaster oven I bought for her instead of her oven whenever she can. She has even used it to bake a cheesecake.
#13 USE LIDS
When heating food or boiling water on the stovetop cover your pots and pans with a lid.
We don’t have an electric stove (gas), but I use a lid to get water to boil faster. Even if this doesn’t save us much money it does save me a lot of time and that’s a big plus.
#14 DISHWASHER
Air dry your dishes instead of heat drying them.
#15 AIRPLANE MODE
When I charge my watch and phone I put them into airplane mode. Devices that are off or in “airplane mode” charge much faster than devices that are on.
#16 LIGHTS OFF
This seems like a no-brainer, but I’ll say it anyways. Turn off your lights when you’re not using them.
Every day I come home it’s like Christmas. My husband and kids have every possible light on. They’ll be watching TV upstairs and still have all of the lights on downstairs.
Dimmer switches can be used to control light intensity. Lower settings use less electricity.
#17 SOLAR PANELS
The way we are able to keep our electric bill no more than $16 a month is because we have solar panels.
Shortly after moving into our home a solar panel company was offering to install free solar panels in our neighborhood. We did our research and opted to get them done.
Each solar panel company has different contract stipulations. Ours basically indicates we have to keep the panels up a certain amount of time or pay to have them removed before that time period. The energy we get each month goes towards our electric bill.
Before solar panels our electric bill was approximately $80-$120 a month. With the solar panels we save a minimum $40 a month!
Cut your electric bill with some or all of these tips. You’ll notice a difference right away.
Once you calculate how much you are saving on your electric bill each month take that amount and put it towards a bill, into a savings account, or invest it.
Do you have any other tips to cut your electric bill? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.
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Great tips! Solar panels are our dream. I want to cover our entire roof with solar panels! 🙂
Thank you! They were completely free and we have the option to buy the system after 6 or 7 years too if we want.
When you say “completely free”, I can only assume you signed a leasing agreement where you make a monthly payment to this solar leasing company?
However, the savings seen on your electric bill is greater than the lease payments, thereby making the panels appear to be “completely free”?
I work in the electric industry as a regulatory analyst and haven’t come across companies offering free solar panels to people and am curious to know more.
Thanks!
The solar panel company did not charge us to have them installed but we need to have them on our house for at least 7 years I believe, unless we move. We do pay them each month for what we don’t “earn” from the sun which has been significantly cheaper for us than our previous electric company supplier. It’s sometimes only $20 a month. More in the summer and less in the winter. I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear, the panels were free, but the electricity significantly cheaper.
I love the electronics tip! I never would have thought electronics that are off still draw electricity!
Yes they do and it’s only a little less than when the appliance is on. Using a power strip can help make it easier to turn them off at the same time too.
Great info! Didn’t know that about “off peak” hours. Middle of the night is when we always run our dishwasher. Good thing, huh?
LOL!!
Wow! I had no idea about the peak and non peak hours! I love letting my clothes dry outside. Great tips!
I did it today because I had a lot of heavy jackets to wash and they’d take forever in the dyer.
Plus the bonus of it doesn’t cost you any money in electricity to dry it.
And what’s with dumb laws that allow HOA’s especially to ban clotheslines. America, the land of the free? Yeah right! More like the land of the free to be dictated to by petty little dictators who haven’t got a life more like it.
Such great tips! We use blackout curtains as well, they are great!
Yes, great for sleeping lol
LOVE the idea of peak vs. non-peak hours! Going to call today to check into that!
Yess!
This article is full of really great tips- I love the one about using dishwasher off-peak, and charging phone in airplane mode- will have to try some of these out!
Thank you. Yes, my phone charges so fast on airplane mode.
great hacks! We do alot of these, but I’m going to add a lid and charging in airplane mode!
Thank you. Yes those are my favorite because they save time AND money.
I didn’t know about a lot of these! Thanks for the tips! We are trying to pay of some school loans as quick as possible and every little bit helps.
That’s great. Yes, every little bit does help. When I had student loans one of my loans gave me a discount on my interest rate if I scheduled automatic payments.
Wow, some great ideas here that I was not aware of. Thank you Monica!
You’re welcome 🙂
This is an awesome list. I’ll have to try more of these. I always forget to unplug things when not in use
thank you. You’re not the only one lol
Some great tips! We live off-grid so we don’t have any monthly utility bills anymore. But I remember the days when I used to freak out about lights and other power usage.
Thank you. We’ve talked about quitting our jobs and going off the grid too. I think if it wasn’t for having to take care of my parents we would have.
We are in the process of switching every light to LEDs and following a few other steps mentioned here. What we really need to do is replace the A/C unit, but that had to wait till we can afford it – but we know once we do that, our energy expenses will go down in the Summer.
Yes a new A/C unit can be very pricey. I would go with what you have planned too if I was in the same situation. We just had our furnace serviced and that saved us a good amount on our heating bill.
Monica you nailed this. I did not know about airplane mode charging things faster. I am in freezing Manitoba and my bill is $700 in frigid January. Hydro is the big subject of discussion in this part of the world.
Thank you! Wow, that is cold. Stay warm!
These are great tips and so helpful for cutting costs! Thanks for sharing!
thank you!
I love these tips! Very simple to apply, especially curtains and cleaning😊
thank you!
Those are great tips! I have not heard of dryer balls before, so I will be looking into that for more info. Thanks!
Thank you. They’re little balls made of plastic/cloth and help air circulate more efficiently in your dryer.
These are great tips! I need to do more of these. I love dryer balls!
It’s weird, but I think they’re so cute lol
I miss the off-peak hours that I could utilize in AZ. We definitely utilize ceiling fans to keep the temp a little higher in the summer months!
Great tips! Turning off the light when leaving a room and putting the heat just a tad bit lower than normal helps a lot. 🙂
Yes that is a good tip. I still need to figure out how to master our thermostat lol
These are great tips. My utilities are included in my rent so I honestly have no idea how much they usually run.
Thank you. It really all depends on how big your place is and how many people live in the home. Big plus of renting.
I love having the sun come in the windows in the winter months. It really warms up my house and makes it feel like summer!
Me too. It’s the first thing I do everything morning after I wake up.
I had no idea about the ceiling fan trick! I’ll be trying that out soon!
I had always wondered why they had a button to change fan direction too lol
I was a bit proud of myself after reading this list. 😉 Many things we are already doing. I didn’t know about running the dishwasher at non-peak times. We always run it at night. Now, we may switch to the early morning and see what happens.
*high five* That’s great!