33 Creative Ways to Save On Your Electric Bill

_{Is your utility bill too high? Did you know you can save on your electric bill by making some out-of-the-box changes? Try these incredibly simple ways to cut your electric bill in half.}

33 Creative Ways to Save On Your Electric Bill

We all want to save energy, and in the process reduce the costs of our electricity bills. And who wouldn’t? More money in our pockets means we can save for the future or take the kids on a special trip. There are a lot of ways to reduce your costs, and many are well-known.

Today I am going to go over “Shocking Ways to Save On Your Electric Bill”. There are some more unusual and shocking ways you can actually lower your electric bill and here are some of them.

After some research and experimenting, I found these 33 Creative Ways to Save on Your Electric Bill. 

Read More Money Saving Tips & Tricks from Inspiring Savings

Fill the Fridge

You may have heard about making sure your fridge and freezer are full while leaving space in front for airflow. If you don’t have enough food to fill your fridge, go ahead and fill some plastic containers with water. This will fill the space and not cost you anything. You can do this in the freezer, too, which benefits the most from being packed full.

Hose Down Your Outdoor AC Unit

Did you know you can use the garden hose and clean out your AC unit? Make sure to first shut off the power at the breaker or fuse first. Use the hose to clean out the compressor. This will keep your unit more efficient, saving you money.

Also, make sure any outdoor plants you have are not within 1 foot of the unit to keep the air flowing at maximum capacity. Don’t forget to change out those filter pads when recommended. This will save you money over time and keep your furnace and air conditioner working longer.

Skip the Oven

Using your oven can cost quite a bit. By switching to smaller appliances, you can reduce energy usage by close to 75%! Try using the microwave or toaster oven when you can instead of turning on the oven. Using a crock pot is also a great energy saver.

Check Your Fridge Gaskets

You may not realize that the gaskets on your fridge are worn out. This can leak out the cold air and make your fridge work harder to stay cool. This wastes a ton of energy! How can you check? A simple check is all it takes. Put a dollar bill in the door and close it. If you can easily pull it out, then the gaskets are not sealing well and should be replaced.

Use Color to Your Advantage

One interesting decorating tip is to use pale paint colors on your ceilings, floors, and walls. The softer colors will reflect more light, so you can use light bulbs with lower watts. Lower wattage equals electricity savings for you.

We all want to save energy, and in the process reduce the costs of our electricity bills. There are a lot of ways to reduce your costs and many are well-known. There are some more unusual and shocking ways you can actually lower your electric bill and here are some of them.

Use Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

We used to have regular lightbulbs in our homes. Over the years, we have been switching them out for my energy-efficient light bulbs. We knew our old bulbs were energy suckers. I honestly don’t remember the last time I changed a lightbulb since we installed these bulbs.

Energy-efficient light bulbs can be brighter than regular light bulbs and they last much longer! It’s a win-win situation. To save money, we didn’t replace all of our bulbs at one time. We couldn’t afford it.

As one went out, we would replace it. No reason to spend a bunch of money to switch over. Just changing a few bulbs at a time will still save you money on your electric bill! Change them out until the whole house has been changed over. Even if it is one at a time. One light bulb over time can help. As they say, every penny adds up.

Becoming a Star

Look for products and appliances that have earned the ENERGY STAR label. They meet strict new energy efficiency criteria that will reduce your utility bills and help the environment. ENERGY STAR clothes washers, for example, use approximately 40% less water and 25% less energy for washing than standard models.

Change Air Filters

A clogged filter not only makes it more expensive for your HVAC system to run, but it’s not good for the air quality in your home. Let’s not put any extra pressure on your HVAC system. According to Better Home Guides, most experts recommend that filters be changed every 60 to 90 days.

Check Your Dryer

Lint happens! You can help your dryer work more efficiently by keeping it clean, and emptying the lint trap after each load is one of the most important things you can do to stop a dryer from working harder than necessary. It is also a good idea to do a thorough cleaning of your dryer ducts. Any build-up is a fire hazard and it makes your machine work that much harder.

Use Cold Water Washing

You have seen the commercials – cold water washing can save you a lot of money. Now, they even make laundry detergent that works best in cold water. Not all clothing needs to be washed in hot water. Hot water expands fabrics and can increase wear and tear.

Use a Clothes Line

A simple clothesline allows you to dry your clothes for free using the power of the sun instead of expensive electricity. Electric clothes dryers can put a dent in your pocketbook, especially if you have a large household. Plus, clothes dried by outside air smells amazing.

Use a Programmable Thermostat

According to the Department of Energy, You can save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling by simply turning your thermostat back 7°-10°F for 8 hours a day from its normal setting. This means your home is not being kept at the same temperature throughout the day. Just a few adjustments throughout the day when you are not home can make a big difference.

Don’t Skip The Maintenance

When it comes to heating and cooling our homes, maintaining a functioning HVAC is often a matter that is out of sight, out of mind. HVAC preventative maintenance means more than effective heating and cooling, it can give you more life for your machines and few repairs.

Seal Air Leaks

Sealing air leaks around windows and doors is one of the best and easiest ways to save on your heating and cooling costs. To find air leaks around your doors and windows, go around your home looking for damaged caulk and weatherstripping. Generally, you can feel the cool air entering your home. Before sealing, make sure you remove the old crack caulk first using a razor blade.

For cracks and gaps less than 1/4 inch, use weatherproof caulk; for gaps larger than 1/4 inch, use expandable foam spray.

Clean Your Refrigerator Coils

Refrigerator condenser coils are located on the back of the fridge or across the bottom. When coils are clogged with dust, pet hair, and cobwebs, they can’t efficiently release heat.

When you clean your coils it would also be a great time to clean behind your fridge too. Cleaning twice a year should be sufficient enough.

Use Your Dishwasher

Washing dishes by hand take forever, and actually use more water and energy. Dishwashers may use electricity, but they save more energy, money, water, and time than washing dishes by hand.

According to the California Energy Commission, using an Energy Star-qualified dishwasher instead of hand washing can save you 5,000 gallons of water and $40 in utility costs each year. That’s a whole lot of savings.

Don’t Run Appliances Unless They Are Full

We’re talking about things like your dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer. If you are not running full loads, then you are doing twice as much work. Don’t let your machines work hard on small loads.

Don’t Open Your Oven Door

Did you know each time you open your oven door while cooking it can decrease the temperature by 25 to 50 degrees cooler? This means it takes more energy to bring it back up to temperature. So if you are antsy like me and have to check, use your oven light instead to take a peek.

Use Ceiling Fans

In the summer, they can help cool a room down by 10 degrees or more. And in the wintertime, it can pull heat that rises down to liveable spaces.

Close off Your Fireplace

Wood-burning fireplaces can warm up a room fast, but more often they rob a house of heat by letting it escape up the chimney. If you have a modern fireplace with a cold air intake from outside, make sure you equip it with an airtight door. And when not in use, make sure the chimney flue is closed.

Change Your Shower Head

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, if every home in the United States installed WaterSense-labeled showerheads, we could save more than $2.9 billion in water utility bills and more than 260 billion gallons of water annually. WOW! That is a shocking amount of water and money saved.

Take Shorter Showers

This is a tough one in our house. We have a teenage girl who loves her showers. But now, we figured out a way to shorten the length of her shower. We have a shower time. She sets seven minutes on her phone.

Lower Water Heater Temperature

A no-cost solution for water heaters is simply lowering the water temperature. And it doesn’t have to be a huge adjustment. Just turn it down a few degrees than normal. Water heaters are a big culprit of energy use. You might not even notice the difference until you see your electric bill for the month.

Use Smaller Appliances

Anytime you don’t have to use the oven, try using a smaller appliance like your toaster oven or microwave. These use substantially less electricity than the oven.

Use Dimmer Switches

I love that my car has an eco button. I use it all the time. It just reduces the amount of energy my car uses helping me save money on gas. A dimmer switch can do the same in your home. By having one installed and using it, you can turn down the brightness of your lights. Even 10% darker can save you some extra cash.

Turn Off the Lights

Keeping the lights on when they’re not in use is a real drain on your electricity. So if you are going to walk away from a room, shut the light off. If it’s sunny out, use that natural light to your advantage. Not only is it easy on the eyes, but it’s also free!

Use Smart Plugs

Hey, we are in the age of smart homes. And using smart plugs can help reduce energy usage in your home. For instance, this TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Mini is a gadget that plugs into your wall; you can schedule it to turn your electronic devices on and off automatically.  

Use Smart Power Strips

Some electronic gadgets — such as TVs, computers, and speakers — never truly power off. Instead, they sit in standby mode using a trickle of power that can account for 5%-10% of home energy use and $100 a year. Just by getting a smart power strip, you can disconnect power to those devices when not in use.

Insulate Crawl Space Ducts

Leaky, uninsulated ducts in crawl spaces and attics waste huge amounts of energy and money. Often that air creeps to the inside of your home. By using insulation, you reduce the amount of cold or hot air entering into the main part of your home.

Close Heating Registers

Depending on your season, you will want to close off a few select registers. In the winter, since heat rises, we turn off a few select registers upstairs. And vice versa when we are running the air conditioner. Think about closing off the register in rooms you are not using. This will save a ton of money. OH, and keep the door to that room shut.

Do An Energy Audit

Utility providers will often conduct a home energy audit, sometimes for free, and can identify ways to reduce your energy usage. An audit can help you figure out if faulty seals on windows and doors or leaky ductwork, among other things, are draining energy from your home. Give your local utility provider a call.

Ask About Discounts

Some utility providers offer cheaper rates during parts of the day when general usage is down— think early in the day or late at night. You could spend less on electricity by doing laundry and other energy-intensive chores at off-peak times.

Go Solar

Going Solar is by far the most effective way to reduce your energy bill. Now not everyone can make the switch because it costs quite a bit out of pocket first. Solar panels can not only lower your electric bill — they can completely replace it. Think of going solar as replacing your electricity bill with monthly payments for your solar equipment.

For more information about going solar – Click Here.

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