How to Lower Electric Bill

​How To Reduce Energy Bills: 20+% Savings Guide

power-meterSo you’d like to do something to decrease your electricity bill? Well then I’ve got really good news for you… IF you are up to the challenge… your search is over. Here, you won’t just find a couple of tips for lowering energy bills.

Instead, you’re going to find a massive resource not only placing various tools, tips and methods at your disposal, but also giving you an insight as to why they work and why certain things are more costly than others in terms of energy. With that information, you’ll be able to figure out even more ways to save on electric bill costs.

Before we begin, we’ve got a couple of things to keep in mind. They are:

  1. To get the best results, when applying each tip or method, do it for blood. Don’t be half-hearted in your application. You’ll get out of this what you put into it.
  2. Follow the tips as listed. If you change something, you may not get the expected result. That’s not to say that there isn’t always room for improvement, but if you want to really take a nice chunk out of your energy bill, then do things by the book.

  3. Be realistic in your expectations. You’re not going to save 60% on electricity, even by applying all of the methods listed below. You will be able to get substantial savings, but don’t start off thinking that you are going to cut your bill in half (you COULD, but not in most cases).

Ok, do I still have your attention? If so, let’s get into it.

How To Reduce Electric Bill Using Several Easy Methods

Here are the tips/methods/tools. Each one will have a full explanation of how to use/apply it. They will also have a GENERAL ESTIMATION of how much you can save by doing it. Remember: these are just estimates. Results may vary. They are there to give you an idea of the relative effectiveness of each method.

Alright, here we go.

light-bulbsSwitch To LED Bulbs

This one is very simple to do. You just head out to the local home improvement store (they will have the best selection) and pick yourself up some LED bulbs to replace the standard, incandescent bulbs that you’re currently using.

They will vary in efficiency and price. You’re looking for a balance between cost and efficiency. You should pick up a type that uses about 20% less electricity than a regular bulb. The next step is to go home and screw them all in. Easy and simple.

Difficulty: 1

Savings: 2%

Use Dimmer Switches

Here’s another one that focuses on lighting. Installing dimmer switches for some of your most commonly used lights will allow you to only use as much light as you need. Installation is more complicated than just screwing in a light bulb but isn’t too difficult either. Be sure to read the installation instructions first.

Difficulty: 2

Savings: <1%

Bonus Tips For Saving On Lighting:

Here’s some more tips on how to save on lighting

  1. Use natural light during the day.

  2. Use only as many bulbs as you need in multi-bulb fixtures and lamps.

  3. Remember to turn lights off after use.

Install A Programmable Thermostat

This device will allow you to put your A/C or heater on auto-pilot. It can be setup to turn on and off at certain times of the day to the desired temperature. This way you’ll never have to worry about leaving the A/C running all day long.

install-programmable-thermostat
For best results (we’re assuming you’re in a warm climate area or season) set it to turn the A/C off just before everyone leave the house for the day, and to turn back on about 20 minutes before people begin returning home (so the house is comfortable when they enter). Set the A/C to raise its temperature by a couple of degrees once the sun has gone down (as it’s not so hot outside), and once more after 2:00am (when everyone is asleep).

Difficulty: 3

Savings: 6.5%

Install An Electric Saver

This is a special type of device made solely for the purpose of saving electricity. It works by collecting the electricity that gets wasted by various household appliances (like the A/C or pool pump) and then sending that electricity back to your appliances for use.

large-buynow

It essentially boosts the overall efficiency of your home. Once it’s set up, (it takes about 20 minutes to install) you don’t need to do anything else. It doesn’t require any maintenance or part replacement, so it’s really easy to use. And product users have reported an average savings of 15% using this device alone.

Difficulty: 1

Savings: 15%

How To Lower Electric Bill: Bonus Tips
for A/C & Heating

Here’s a few additional tips that apply to the A/C or heating systems:

  1. Close vents in unused rooms so you aren’t heating/cooling unnecessary spaces.

  2. If you only need to keep 1 or 2 rooms warm, use a small space heater instead of the central heating.

  3. For every degree higher (in the summer) or cooler (in the winter) you set your A/C, you lower your electric bill by about 1%.

insulate-water-heaterKeep Your Water Heater Insulated
Water heating is another high expense (right behind heating and cooling). So give your water heater a break by insulating it. Getting some insulation from the home improvement store (usually ready-made jackets for common water

heater sizes are sold) and covering your water heater (and the connecting pipes) is fairly simple and is one of the easiest ways to save on your energy bill.

Difficulty: 2

Savings: 3%

There you have it. Now you know some of the most effective ways how to reduce electricity costs. Now you may have noticed that we didn’t include anything about switching to Energy Star appliances. While this is a good action to take and will help you to save energy, we wanted to provide a guide that anyone, not just people in the market for new appliances, would be able to fully take advantage of.

So what are you waiting for? You literally could cut your electricity bill by over 20% in the next few days. Get out there and start saving money on your utility bills!

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