Light Up Your Life & Still Save Money on Your Power Bill!

In the winter, our power bill sometimes gets really high.  We keep our house on a reasonable temperature (66 degrees) and we try to conserve energy as much as possible.  Last month’s bill was higher than expected so I decided to call the power company and investigate.  I was connected to an Energy Adviser, who gave me a ton of tips on how to save more money on our bill.  I’m going to pass these ideas on to my readers as well.

There are three main energy-suckers in your home.  They are your heater, your refrigerator and your hot water heater. There are certain things you can do to lower your energy usage.  Some are common sense, like figuring out what you want before you open the fridge, while some ideas might’ve slipped your mind.

In order to save more money on your power bill, you can:

*Change your air filters each month.

*Get your (in our case) heat pump serviced and stay up to date on regular maintenance.

*Use thermal curtains. They work both in the summer and the winter!

*Set your thermostat to 68 degrees or lower in the winter and keep it there.  Don’t keep turning it up or down.

*Use an electric blanket.  On average it only costs 2-3 cents per night to run (for 8 hours).

*Keep your hot water heater at 120 degrees.

*Wash your clothes in cold water and make sure your washer is energy efficient.  My homemade laundry soap works in cold water!

*Use a clothesline on nice days or in the winter, only half-dry some clothes and hang them on a drying rack.

*Put a dry towel in the dryer with wet clothes. It will cut down drying time and energy usage.

*Only run your dishwasher once per day or less.

*Run your appliances at night, not during peak hours.  This article tells you more.

*Change your lightbulbs to CFLs.  CFLs use 1/3rd to 1/5th the electrical power of incandescent lighting and can last 8 to 15 times longer.

*Use Smart Strips on electronics such as computers or tvs.  They shut down the power to those items when they are in stand-by mode or not in use.

*Make sure your appliances are energy efficient.

*Check the seal on your fridge by using a folded up dollar bill.  Shut it in the door.  If it’s easy to pull it out, the seal on your fridge isn’t tight and this can waste a ton of money.

*Have an energy audit conducted on your house.  They will teach you specific things that you can do to reduce your family’s energy usage.

 

I hope you find these tips as beneficial as I did. Call your local power company and see if they have any programs or incentives to help you save money on your bill and cut down your energy usage.  Do you have any other tips that might work?  I’m all ears!