The image below shows our monthly energy bill. We do not have a separate gas connection for heating needs. Our bills are abnormally high during the summer months. We finally nailed it to the old air conditioning system. Our landlord will soon replace the AC system, before the summer really kicks in here in Florida. So far, we have been saving summer energy bills by few simple methods. We consume 40% less energy than the national household average of $2024 per year, a little solace! Still we feel we can save more.
One of the best ways to save money and build your savings account is to work hard at reducing your electric bill. Think about it: the lower your power bill (and other utility bills), the more money you have in your pocket that you can either save or use for other things you need. Here are some practical and important ways to save power while substantially increasing your savings.
Related – Largest energy guzzler appliances and how to cut cost on them
I wrote previously about cutting back energy use to have a better life. This is another in the same direction. Just to emphasize how important it is to your finances and the overall betterment of the world we live in to save energy consumption.
1. Shop Around
If you are lucky enough to live in a state with a deregulated energy industry, take advantage of the opportunity to shop around! Almost every deregulated state (and a few that don’t) have websites where the different utility company rates and reviews have been compiled to give you a quick and easy way to compare benefits.
2. Opt-In
It might cost a few extra bucks a month but it’s worth the cost to opt-in to a renewable energy source plan. Your power is already automatically partly supplied by renewable or sustainable sources but there are programs that will give you 100% of your power this way. Opt-in so that you won’t feel guilty about the power that you do still use (even after you make the following adjustments).
3. Spend to Save
Some of the best ways to save power involve buying in to newer technologies. Solar powered device chargers cost money but, over the course of their lifetime, they’ll save you more on your power bills than it cost you to buy the charger to begin with. It’s even worth it to get the upgrade so that these chargers can power up your laptops or tablet computers as well as smaller portable devices like phones, mp3 players, etc.
Another good example here is LED lighting. At the outset, LED lights are by far the most expensive lighting option, coming in at an average of $20 per bulb. But! They use less power than incandescents (some as much as 80% less) and even less power than CFLs (LEDs “beat” CFLs in power savings by 10-15%). They also last much longer than both of those types of bulbs. One LED bulb should last 5-6 years, which is an improvement over the CFL’s 3-4. They can save you hundreds of dollars in power savings over the course of their lifetime, which makes the initial $20 investment well worth it.
Along these same lines, if you want to get bigger, are energy efficient appliances, the installation of wind turbines or solar panels, tank-less water heaters, etc. Spend now to save lots over the long term.
4. Cliches are Cliches for a reason
Turn off the lights when you aren’t using them (install motion detectors if you have a hard time remembering to do this).
Wash dishes by hand instead of using a dishwasher.
Hang dry your laundry instead of running the dryer.
Use natural light until it is no longer sufficient to see and then turn on the lights.
Wear a sweater instead of turning up the heat.
Here’s the the complete list of 101 ways to save energy.
5. Over Budget
This is more of a money tip than a power savings tip: budget at least 5-10% more for your utility bills than you think you should need (use your largest power bill over the last twelve months to get this number). This way if your power spikes, you’re prepared and won’t panic about your budget.
If it is less than you’ve budgeted, take the “leftover” amount that you had planned to spend on your power bill and tuck it away in your savings account. You’ll be able to track your savings and save up all at the same time!
These are just some of the ways that tackling your power bill can save you money. What are some of your favorites? The US Energy Information Administration report finds decreased energy consumption per household in 2012 compared to the previous years. Which is a good sign and shows the overall awareness among people.
Bonus!!
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With the brand new AC system being installed in our home, we expect to see major drop in summer energy bill, we are also planning to use more of the table fans. Readers, what are you doing to cut down your energy consumption?
You know I never looked to see where we are with the national average. We do however have a separate gas line so in the winter months our electricity plummets while the gas goes up. We found a company that was able to charge us a few cents less than the main company in our area. They are one of those smaller companies that piggy back off the main company’s lines.
Very Basic changes to ones lifestyle can make a huge difference. We also track our energy usage and when we started our monthly budget was $432.(Gas & Elec) We have a 100 yr old home that was no where near energy efficient.
We did many things we knew would help, which were free or cheap, then invested $300 to have an “energy audit” done by a professional. This gave us a starting point and a way to develop a road map to energy efficiency.
We are in an energy deregulated so making that change was a no-brainer. We researched several companies and found one that actually offered “green energy” cheaper than the brown energy we were getting through our local utility.
With the many changes we made, our current budget amount is under $140 per month-a savings of around $300 a month. It really wasn’t that hard or expensive, but we are very conscious of every watt we use.
I now spend my time showing others how they can do the same thing, which to many is a God-send in this economy.
Thanks for the tips, hopefully your readers will take it to heart and make some simple changes that will drastically improve their economic lives.
It’s always good to shop around. Look for the best service provider you can find and spend money in order to save some. Most of the new appliances in the market consume less energy than their older counterpart, so in my case I make it a point to check out the energy consumption of the appliances I have at home especially the ones that tend to consume a lot of energy and are already outdated to see which ones I need to replace.
We live near Sacramento, California, so admittedly our winters are not harsh. (Our summers, though, can be fiercely hot.) However, this winter we kept our furnace off, except when we had company, even when the temp dropped to freezing, opting instead for sweaters and blankets. Note: our house is pretty well insulated and we have double-paned thermal windows. As a result, we save enough energy that our utility company gave us a 20% discount on our February bill.
I think the cliche part is simple, but really valuable. Energy is cheap so any one strategy probably won’t make much of a difference. But if you can do several, you just might lower your energy bills. But for us in the northeastern US, the weather plays a huge part. Cold winter? More oil & more space heaters. Hot summer? More AC and more fans. I love the seasons but hate the ever changing energy bills.
Amazing work! Behavioral changes do account for a huge amount of savings once they become habit (i.e. when you get out of the mentality of “oh, this won’t make THAT much difference”). Great post!
My state is a monopoly when it comes to gas and electric. The rats (rates) are atrocious. For example I pay about $200 a month and nobody is home for 11 hours a day. 7 hours of sleep. That leaves 6 hours a day where there might be some usage. And to boot we have great incoming daylight so there is no need for wasting electricity.
Great share.Small things can indeed make a positive difference. Energy resources are not infinite and I think most will agree that we need to save energy for future generations.
In my household, we do not use the dryer( allowing for the clothes to come out softer than if dried by machine) and try to use as much natural daylight before having to turn on the house lights.
Just making a few subtle changes and/or investing in energy efficient appliances can help put more dollars in the wallet instead of in the utility company pockets.