So how do you cut your electricity bills? Here I discuss ideas as to what you can do to reduce the amount of electricity you / your home uses. It’s all basically a simple common sense approach to the problem. These are things you can do right now in your home. Some power companies will give you discounts for dual fuel bills (gas & electric) as well as paperless billing. find the best provider for your situation.
Not using it? Switch it off!
It may sound obvious but often times you don’t do it. Best tip is to go to your local pound or dollar store & buy some plugin timers. Fall asleep with the TV or Stereo on a lot? plug it into a timer & set it to cut the power an hour to an hour & a half after you normally fall asleep. Also set the timer to allow the power back on when you normally wake up.
Got phone chargers in the house? Remember to switch off your mobile charger when done. Got a portable home phone too? Fit that with a timer thats off during the day but switches on for a few hours late at night to keep the phone charged. The electricity used at this time may even be cheaper too.
Computers / laptops should be switched off manually when not in use. suddenly cutting the power with a timer could lead to computer crashes. A laptop will just run till the batteries flat. Same applies to battery backups for computers as well.
Switch off lights you’re not using as well as fit energy efficient bulbs. If you’ve got dimmer switches on any lights you can buy special energy efficient bulbs that work with dimmer switches. You can search for them online if your local store doesn’t stock them.
Reducing cost of hot water
Make sure your hot water tank is insulated properly. Also reduce the temperature of the water. There’s no point in it being so dam hot you burn yourself is there! Fit solar panels if you can afford them. Think you can’t? Read this other post. Have a shower instead of a bath as you’ll use less hot water.
The fridge / freezer
If your fridge and / or freezer has a lot of space in it fill it up with bottled water. A fridge runs most efficiently when it is about 75% full and the temperature should be set to about 3 degrees C. You can also fill up gaps in the freezer with bottled water too but make sure the bottles are only two thirds full and made of plastic as water expands when frozen.
Central Heating
Turn off heaters in rooms you don’t use. Fit double glazed windows if you can afford them. If not, fit heavy insulative curtains & keep them closed at night. Keep doors closed to, including internal doors. Drop the thermostat to about 68 degress F & put on a sweat top or jumper.
These are the more obvious ways to cut your electricity bills but there are other ways as well that power companies don’t want you to know because they want your money. Some methods even allow you not bother doing some of the things listed above! This is some recomended reading: Save On Home Energy. It’s packed full of all kinds of power saving info.
I hope you found this info useful as it’s starting to look like oil prices are starting to rise in time for winter & higher bills again. Do all you can to beat the greedy power companies. They are only iinterested in making a profit for share holders, not helping you when times are tough.
DIY Home Energy Survey
More help for you in cutting your bills. Don’t pay hundreds for an energy consumption survey when you can do it yourself. This ebook tells you how. It pays for itself in the money you could be saving on your next utility bill.
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