Check out these ideas shared by the ThriftyFun community!
Purchase timer light switches and install in the bathrooms, kids rooms or any room were lights may be forgotten on. The timers automatically shut the lights off after 15 to 60 minutes.
I just wanted to share my energy savings tips! Our electric bill kwh hour jumped almost double so I had to come up with something to help. It all sort of played out slowly.
If you have an electric water heater, turn your hot water heater off when you go out of town, or even when you leave for the day. It will cut your electric bill!
Receiving a utility bill that is unexplainably high is initially a shock. Then the question is what is wrong. With a high electric bill, sometimes the culprit is a malfunctioning appliance. This is a page about troubleshooting the cause of a large electric bill.
Utility bills can be very expensive, but there are some easy cost effective ways to reduce them. This page contains ideas to slash your electric bill in half.
To save on electricity during peak costs, use a battery operated radio. I also use a battery operated lamp in my bedroom. The batteries last a long time, saving money.
After unplugging every gadget that wasn't being used, turning off every light that didn't need to burn, and replacing every appliance with an energy saving model, there still had to be an unseen way to save electricity. Saving water can save electricity as well.
One can never save enough electric. Yet, the growing concern over the cost of utilities coincides with the growing concern for the health of our planet. This enables a household to cut utility costs while "going green" in ways that are easier than ever before.
Our local library offers, to members, free usage of Kill A Watt monitor for three days. There is a waiting list but it is well worth the wait. Check your local library to see if they offer it. It was donated by the local power company.
I am such a creature of habit that I often do not think of the things I do that use expensive energy and climate changing fuels.
We are on a "Time-of-Use" plan for the electricity we use in our home. Our provider is Wisconsin Public Service. From 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. and 24 hours/day on Saturdays,Sundays, and holidays, we are charged $.0549/KWH.
Think you've mastered electrical savings? Take another look around your home and find even more places to pull the plug and keep the meter from spinning.
There are more than a few ways to keep the electric meter from spinning at an alarming rate. Some require a little electrical inventory, such as turning off unused appliances or switching to Energy Star appliances. However, others take a bit more creativity and planning.
Unplug appliances that are "instant on" appliances, such as TV, phone charger, etc. when not in use. These are "vampire" appliances that have electric current going through them.
I was absolutely shocked at my electric bill this month, so I sat down and made a list of things I will do to see if I can get it down, this list is now posted on the refrigerator, so I can see it every day. . .
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Tip for saving money on electricity. Post your ideas.
Cover your windows! I don't have the best windows and can't afford new ones and I can feel the cold coming off of them at night! By using drapes to trap the heat and stop the cold, you could save a considerable amount of money on your energy bill. This works in the summer, too. Also, check the fitting on your outer doors. Use a blanket or towel on the bottom if there is any gap. Nobody mentioned this yet so I thought I would throw in my 2 cents.
Putting your outside lights on motion detectors also can save energy. And, turn off lights when leaving the room -- sounds obvious, but it helps.
We save money on electricity by turning our thermostat on 78-80 degrees in Summer. We use propane fireplaces to keep the house warm in winter. Summer time, we keep the curtains and mini-blinds shut.
Does a laundry dryer that is turned off use a lot of energy with a 220 plug?
By Tonya from CO
A dryer that's not running doesn't use any energy. The things that use energy are things with a continual light like electric clocks, anything with a timer. etc.
If my breaker keeps tripping; would that make my electrical bill go up, since I had to turn it off, then turn it back on? Wouldn't that take up a lot more power? I'm trying to figure out why my bill is 3 times higher than the other month. The only thing I can think of is when my breaker kept tripping.
By Ti
No, breakers tripping would not make your power bill go up. Whatever is causing your breaker to trip repeatedly might be the issue. Have you figured out WHY the breaker continually trips?
How can we save $$ on our energy bill when my utility company increases our rates because we are using less energy?
By Ted
My electric bill was over 220 dollars for one month in a small 2 bed/1 bath apt in Ohio. My apartment has old appliances, stove, refrigerator, hot water heater, and AC unit from 1999. Whenever I say anything to the landlord, she gets mad! The seal around the refrigerator and oven are old, moldy, and don't fit well enough to seal properly. Now my utility bill is so high, but I can't afford to move!
By Marie H.
I started recently saving money on my electric bill, and wanted to hear if anyone else had ideas, feedback, etc. I switched my energy provider to North American Power (www.napower.com/kdegross). I am literally saving about $20 a month in my small apartment. I didn't even see a difference on my electric bill, and CLandP still handles any problems.
Has anyone else had this success? Any other ideas? Gas is so high in CT, I figured that if I can save on my electric, I am ahead of the game!
By JennCopplin from CT
How do I lower my power bill?
Kent from Dalton, Ga.
Here's some more good tips: Saving Money on Electricity
Is Georgia Power your power company there ?
Either way their website (or check the website of your energy company) has lots of tips. Most will do energy audits which are free quite often. Sometimes they offer rebates or hand out free CFL bulbs. Recently our power company had where you could bring in 4 bulbs and 2 old lamps and they would exchange them for CFL bulbs and lamps that would fit them for free.
Also check into the billing program where they add up a year's worth of your energy bills and then divide it up so you pay a certain static amount monthly...instead of having really big winter (or summer if you use a lot of AC) bills and then tiny bills the other months. Also check to see if you qualify for assistance in anyway.
Tips and other info here:
www.georgiapower.com/
(unrelated to your ? but: Do the same for your WATER bill. Look up the company website online or on your current bill. Many will send you free water-saving sink & showerheads for free and will have money saving tips on their website.)
Here is more on 'phantom energy' which I read can be responsible for up to 40% of a household's electronic and appliance use:
www.prnewswire.com/
The pie chart is what percentage of power use in the US is from what source. Keep these in mind as you read the tips on the energy page link above and try to concentrate on the ones with the highest % to start with. But even the little stuff will add up.
Our household has been working on this ourselves. We got our CFL bulbs and power strips, filled the empty spaces in the freezer, using toaster ovens, microwaves and crockpots for cooking instead of the oven, putting on more clothing instead of automatically cranking up the heat etc.
*** EDIT:
Forgot to add that some power companies charge lower rates for OFF-peak usage. Our's used to but discontinued it. It was something like the hours after 7 pm and before 6 am or something. So if you ran your dishwasher or clothes dryer or took a hot bath in the range of those hours you would pay less than if you did it during peak hours. Check to see if your power company has that available.
