4 Easy Tips To Slash Your Electric Bill

Did you know that there are things you can do right now that can reduce your electric bill by up to 30%?

Reducing the amount of electricity you use doesn’t only make financial sense but if you have any renewable energy systems in your home, it will put less of a burden on these systems to supply power.

So how can you slash your electricity bill by upwards of 30%.

In order to do this you first need to know where the most energy is used in your home.  For instance, it is the heating and cooling systems that tend to be responsible for the bulk of your power consumption.  The DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (EREN) estimates that these costs are responsible for about 44% of the power bill in a typical home.  Here are four powerful tips to help you slash your power bill significantly.

1) A Second Fridge?  Do you have two refrigerators in your home?  You would be amazed at how many homes have a second fridge installed in the garage or basement just for the purpose of storing beer.  The majority of these fridges are older models that consume double the amount of energy as compared to newer, more energy efficient models.  To start cutting unnecessary costs on your power bill get rid of any old fridges lying around.  If you’re unable to do then simply unplug them and use them only the night before you absolutely need them to cool your drinks before your party.

2) Maintain Your Fridge:  Have you looked at the dial that regulates the temperature inside your refrigerator?  It really doesn’t need to be turned all the way.  Experiment with adjusting the settings to a lower one.  If your fridge doesn’t cool efficiently even though it may be on a higher setting it’s best to get it checked out by an electrician or you may even want to consider getting the seals checked around the door rim.  Worn seals can be responsible for poor fridge cooling, repairing these can extend the lifespan of your fridge by years and is a cheaper alternative to replacing your fridge outright.

Don’t open the fridge door and deliberate over what you’d like to drink or eat, decide what you want beforehand, doing this simple thing can save your fridge from using more energy to re-cool itself.  Most of the latest models also have a button titled ‘vacation’ on the outside. This helps you to set your fridge to use less electricity when you are away.

3) Air Conditionings/Furnaces: You can be wasting a great deal of energy unknowingly through hot or cool air escaping outside through leaks around your doors or windows.  Make sure that you seal all the gaps.  If you have dirty filters, they will block the airflow through your cooling or heating system so make it a point to clean out those filters once in a while.  Try to set your air conditioner to a neutral temperature so that it doesn’t drain too much power. Fans consume a lot less energy, so use them whenever possible instead.

4) Programmable Thermostat:  Invest in a programmable thermostat that automatically adjusts your home’s internal temperature based on external temperature changes and its daily settings. These nifty devices can help you save around 20% to 30% on your power bill according to the Home Energy Saver website, by reducing the overall energy consumption when no one’s around or everyone is sleeping.  The features you need to consider when buying a programmable thermostat include multiple temperature settings, multiple programs and temperature recovery systems.

It really is the simple things you can do right now that can bring the most savings.  If you start putting these tips into practice today you can see a major reduction in your power bills tomorrow.