Top Ten Ways to Lower Your Electric Bill
#1…Change Filters Regularly
Your air conditioner and/or heating unit have filters that clean the air as it goes into the machine. The motor on your ac/heat unit is meant to pull air through one layer of filter, not a filter plus a layer of built-up who-knows-what on top of it. A dirty filter makes the unit have to work harder, and that takes more energy. Changing your filter every month will not only conserve that energy now, but it will also reduce wear and tear on the motor, keeping you from needing to buy a new one as soon.
#2…Use Lids When You Cook
Another way to reduce the load on your AC/heating motor is to keep the steam from cooking inside the pots by using a lid. That steam is pulled out of the air as it goes through the unit, making it work harder. Also, letting all that heat out makes the stove have to work longer and harder to finish cooking, wasting even more energy.
#3…Fix Drips
Those little drips can mean big bills! Not only are you wasting water, but your pump is working extra to replace that water, and if it’s dripping hot water, your hot water heater is working extra too.
#4…Turn Off Lights
You’ll be amazed at how much difference in your bill this can make. Get in the habit of turning off lights as you leave a room. If you can’t get everyone in the house to get in this habit, think about investing in motion sensors that will turn off lights automatically once the room is empty. They’re well worth the money they’ll save.
#5…Stop Drafts
Take a stick of incense, or a sheet of cling wrap near the edges of your doors and windows to look for drafts. Install weather-stripping to correct any bad seals and keep in the air you’re paying to heat or cool.
#6…Fill’er Up
Wait to run the dishwasher, clothes washer and clothes dryer when you have a full load to do. Doing a small load today and a small load tomorrow cost twice as much as waiting to do one big load tomorrow.
#7…Reduce “Phantom Loads”
Phantom loads are the trickle of energy needed to run appliances that have internal clocks or an instant-on feature that uses power when it’s in “stand-by” mode. So many newer applinaces are built this way that those trickles really add up. Unplug TVs, VCRs, computers, microwaves, and anything else that you’re not using. Another option is to plug these things into power-strips with a switch or breaker (that will keep you from constantly plugging and unplugging things).
#8…Install Ceiling Fans
Moving air is cooling air. Put ceiling fans in the rooms you occupy most, and turn down the air conditioner a few degrees. Be sure to get reversible fans, so that in the winter months you can use them to push down the warm air to where the people are.
#9…Use Curtains
In the summer months, close drapes to keep sun from coming in to heat up the house and make your air conditioner work harder. In the winter open drapes during the day to gather that sunlight-heat, and close them at night to keep heat from bleeding on through the glass windows.
#10…Install A Ground-Source Heat Pump
These units circulate fluid through pipes buried in the ground, where the temperature is always in the high 50’s. Then the pipes pass through your house, bleeding that heat off (in the winter) or pulling excess heat out of the house (in the summer). The unit will pay for itself over time, and is an excellent investment for a homeowner.
Use as many of these tips as you can, and you can significantly reduce your electric bill.
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