Top Ten Tips to Cut Your Electrical Bill

We all love saving money and one significant way to do this is by trimming expenses around your home. Depending upon your usage and location, your electric bill may be one area that you can start cutting back. Even small changes that you make around your home can add up and reduce your electric bill. Here are ten suggestions to cut your electrical bill this winter.

1. Get an Energy Audit – Many utility companies offer a free home energy audit to customers. This is an important first step to assess how much energy your home consumes and to evaluate what measures you can take to make your home more energy efficient.
2. Upgrade to Efficient Devices and Appliances – Many state and local governments and utility companies offer financial incentives for homeowners to upgrade their appliances to newer, more energy-efficient models. Energy Star items such as light bulbs, TVs, clothes washers, refrigerators, furnaces, and fans can earn the Energy Star rating which will save both electricity and can offer rebates.
3. Do a NIghtly Energy Sweep – It may sound simplistic, but walk through your home every evening before bed to turn off devices. You may also want to consider a power strip to shut off items such as the tv, gaming consoles, computers and small kitchen appliances that can still be using power even when they are not on.
4. Hot Water Heater – The Department of Energy estimates that 13% of your home’s electricity goes to heating water. You can lower this percentage, by setting your hot water heater to 130-140 degrees. For even more savings, install an insulation jacket, and insulate the first six feet of piping that comes off of your heater.
5. Use Appliances More Efficiently – Your washing machine and dishwasher uses a lot of electricity. Minimize the drain by only washing full loads. In addition, use the dryer for loads one-right-after-another. The heat from the initial use will save you from having to heat up the machine again.
6. Use Sensor Lights – In order to avoid leaving lights on overnight outdoors, install motion sensors that can save you energy.
7. Seal Up Cracks – Small leaks in your home under doors, windows and foundation can have a cumulative effect. To save money, seal cracks in where cold or warm air typically escapes.
8. Compare your Electric Meter and Bill – Everyone makes mistakes so check that your meter reading matches the amount on your bill.
9. Go Smart – Consider installing Smart devices such as a programmable thermostat. Based on your family’s schedule, you can program it to automatically set the target temperature higher in the summer and lower in the winter when your family won’t be home.
10. Change Your Lightbulbs – Switching to compact fluorescent or light-emitting diode bulbs provides drastic energy savings. In fact, LED bulbs are 80 percent more efficient than incandescent lighting, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.