About 40% of home energy goes on heating and cooling. So how to save money on electricity bills means looking closely at your house and asking some questions about how good is your insulation? Does your home’s aspect maximize the heat from the sun? Do you have ceiling fans to keep the air moving through? This is all before we start looking at your appliances, so I will run through a few ways to save on your bills!
How to Save Money on Electricity Bills
- Reduce costs if working from home.
- Check your washing machine, no need to wash with hot water.
- Inefficient appliances should go.
- Lightbulbs must be energy-efficient use LEDs, get smart bulbs that dim themselves.
- Reduce water heat, by adjusting the thermostat.
- Take shorter showers
- Make a list of points to audit your home.
- Go off-peak in electricity use
- Don’t heat the pool, use solar
- Turn off the light when you leave a room.
- Use timers and sensors
- Don’t install downlights
- Use your microwave more for cooking.
Just updating your refrigerator and washing machine, and dishwasher every few years to the latest high energy saving rated products will help to reduce your bills, as they are improving all the time. Never use a dryer, as this uses way too much electricity. Hang the washing outside.
Switch to Solar
There are several government rebates that will pay you to switch to solar energy, if possible take up the offer, and switch.
In the US a household pays $2000 annually in bills for electricity, according to the department of energy. So to save on energy we need to know more about it. During Summer the heat on the windows makes the inside of the house hotter. Before you leave the house in Summer, pull the blinds or draw the curtain to keep the home cool. In fact, audit your windows, and if you are in a warm climate, use planter shutters to cool the house in summer.
They not only cool but look attractive and fresh, white is the coolest color.
In winter keep your heat in with backed curtains with insulating material. Set your air conditioner heating at 20–22 degrees all the time over winter, to keep your house warm without using too much energy.
When you go away for the weekend turn off the hot water to save energy. Never leave the TV remote on standby as this also uses energy.
Consider Going off the Grid
Many people now go off the grid to save on electricity costs. We had a house costed at between $25 and $40 thousand dollars to work towards being off-grid in one year’s time. Our target is set at 18 KWH a day for a small suburban three-bedroom home. In a city with only about 12 weeks of winter a year. The price is high due to the amount of battery storage necessary to power the home in winter. Fortunately, it is not illegal to go off-grid
but it is expensive, however, some of the new solar batteries are making it look more promising for the future. Outside the cities, many people have already gone off-grid in rural areas. This is a big saving on electricity bills on a rural property.
Use an Energy Switch Comparison Program
These are available online and use comparison programs to show the user how much they can save on the e-bill. Everyone has access to this and can easily see what they can save. Or alternatively, join a group of people who purchase wholesale power. For example, in Singapore, you can save money by switching to another electricity retailer. And you can save even more money by using referral codes like the Senoko Referral Code.
This type of leverage is offered to pensioner groups and others, often people with low incomes. There is now a drive towards everyone becoming sustainable, so there are quite a few competitive offers out there for those who understand where to look.
Conclusion
Change your air conditioner to a split system, as this can save up to $700 per year. When you use the dishwasher consider using it every second day, not every day. Stop using your electric blanket, just put another blanket on the bed. A lot of this sounds a bit mean, but it all helps. By saving electricity
we are all doing our bit for the environment and the future of the planet.
