If you have been receiving high electric bills, month after month, then you should be alarmed. You might be using your appliances more than what you require them.
Normally, a regular American household would consume between $1500 and $2000 per year on their electric bill alone. If you happen to fall between these figures, then you can consider yourself as a regular homeowner that uses electricity that is not really needed. Why? Because you don’t need to spend as much as $2000 a year for energy. And you don’t have to spend more than that either. A regular household that spends at this amount often wastes power and of course money. And with an increased electric rate, the bills will go even higher.
Here are the things you should know. These 5 things will help you cut down on your home energy consumption:
When you want your room to be super cool because you are sweating, you simply don’t want to turn the thermostat down super low. Remember this: the thermostat will not run as quickly as you want. It will run on the same level all throughout until it reaches the temperature you set. So whether you gradually switch your thermostat low or instantly set it on its lowest, you will receive the same result. The main difference is, you only spend more energy when you think you can get your room to cool quickly if you set your thermostat low.
To further cut down your electric bill, you can set the thermostat several degrees lower when you are out or when you sleep.
Your iPod charger, cell phone charger, and other chargers that are plugged in 24/7 can cost you additional dollars on your electric bill. This also goes for your night-lights that are left on all day and all night. Also, your digital clocks, the toaster, and the blender that have been plugged in since they were brought into the house consume high home energy. The computer monitor that is left on the whole day adds to your electric bill. All these contribute to the cost you pay for your electric bill. Imagine this: these things that you think do not contribute much can add as much as 5% to your electric bill.
You don’t need warm water to wash your clothes. Oh, you think that hot water kills germs on your clothes? Well, you don’t need them. Settle for cold water, it will clean just as well as warm or hot. You can save as much as 90% on your washing machine’s electric consumption if you don’t use hot or warm water.
Leaks can come from doors, sills, windows, cracks in the walls, and joints. And making sure that these leaks are given proper attention would yield to a good amount of savings in the long run. Make sure that your doors are closed properly. If there are spaces, seal them. This goes for all the doors in the house, from garage doors, exterior doors, operable windows, to the door of the attic. Use sealants such as weather strippers. Windows should also be free from leaks. Cover them with plastic coverings so that the heat will be contained inside your home. Cracks on the walls should also be sealed. Regular sealants will instantly do the jobs. The reason for doing this is that you need to keep the heat contained inside your home so that the heating system won't need to do extra work due to heat loss from these leaks.
If you are dining alone and want to warm up leftovers straight from your fridge, do not use large pots or the oven. Instead, settle for small pots and use the microwave when possible. Small pots require less heat, and the microwave uses less power than the oven. A small burner, instead of a large burner, is more ideal in preparing meals for two reasons: one, it consumes less electricity, and two, your air conditioning won't have to work double time cooling down the room.
According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, you can save from 30 to 40% on energy cost if you follow these tips.
With these things in mind, you can cut down your energy consumption and save a decent amount money overall.