With All Your Bills Piling Up, Don't Let This One Be a Burden
The price of energy has been increasing steadily over the past few years, leaving some anxious about how they’re going to afford their lifestyle with these significant rises. The good news is there are straightforward ways to save money on your electric bill without making substantial lifestyle changes. Here’s how to save money on electric bill.
11 Easy Steps to Save You Money
1. Unplugging Electronics
Switching your TV off at the remote doesn’t stop you from paying for the electricity. In fact, between 9% and 16% of the electricity we use in our homes is used to power appliances when they’re in standby mode.
Instead of turning off TVs, chargers, and appliances via the machine’s button, consider unplugging your electronics overnight or whenever they’re not in use. You might be surprised at how much you save on your energy bills across the year.
2. Turning off Lights
This one might sound obvious, but it’s all too easy to leave a room and forget to switch the lights off - we’ve all been there! But while an hour or so of lighting every so often doesn’t cost too much, accumulatively over a year or so, leaving the lights on regularly will start to cost you. Not only will you save money by switching them off, but you’ll also do your bit for the planet.
3. Draught-Proof Your Home
A significant amount of electricity can be used running heating systems in winter, especially if you live in a colder climate. Instead of spending valuable money heating your home, invest in some draught excluders, which reduce the draught that gets into your home and keep it warmer.
4. Switch to Using a Fan
Air conditioning can be a lifesaver during hot summers, but it eats away at your money and comes with a hefty carbon footprint. Using a fan often requires less electricity, or, even better, install a ceiling fan that works manually and save up to hundreds of dollars a year on your electricity bills.
5. Opt for Hand Washing
It’s a gray area whether washing your dishes by hand or using a dishwasher is more energy efficient. On the one hand, washing your dishes by hand can use more water than a dishwasher, especially if you leave the tap running throughout.
But if we’re talking about electricity bills, washing by hand is the cheaper option. Instead of running the tap while you wash, fill a washing-up bowl with hot water, wash the dishes in that, and then rinse them using a trickle of cold water.
6. Use Smart Technology
To learn how to save money on electric bill, consider smart technology. If you haven’t yet switched to LED or smart bulbs, now is the time. LED bulbs use less energy to light your home, meaning they’re more cost-efficient. Smart bulbs can be customized and scheduled to help you stick to your energy-spending habits.
A smart plug is another excellent investment for making your home more eco-friendly and costing less to run. Smart plugs are inserted into your wall, allowing you to schedule your electronic devices to switch on and off automatically.
7. Keep Your Oven Door Closed
Although it’s tempting to keep peeking in the oven to see how crispy your baked mac and cheese is looking, every time you open the oven door while something is cooking, you let out valuable heat. The oven then has to use more electricity to bring the internal temperature back up. When you want to check how well your food is cooking, use the light and the see-through oven door to look instead, and avoid peeking before the recommended cooking time.
8. Use Smaller Appliances
If you have something small to cook or reheat, and it can be done using a smaller appliance like a microwave or toaster, cook your meal this way. Ovens use more electricity, so using an oven when you don’t need to is a recipe for high energy bills.
9. Install a Dimmer
Dimming your lights not only creates more of an intimate atmosphere (movie night, anyone?!) but also saves you electricity, which is great for your wallet and the planet. Some of the best dimmer lights on the market work with an app to adjust your room's light without moving from the couch.
10. Clean up Your Dryer
Dryers are a significant culprit of energy use, and whether they’ve got too much lint or dirt in them, they won’t work efficiently, leaving you with higher bills and less bang for your buck. Every couple of months, clean out your dryer and empty your lint tray after every use.
11. Choose Your Usage Times Wisely
It can be cheaper to run your electricity during non-peak hours, usually ranging from late in the evening to early in the morning. Check with your energy provider what they consider to be off-peak hours, and run appliances such as your dryer during this time.
You can significantly reduce your electricity bill by simply introducing some of these hacks into your daily routine. Good luck!