We bring you several tips for smart energy and money-savers
Whether you have a hard-to-manage household or live in an expensive area, there are ways to keep your electricity bills under control and save on energy, all from electricity and home investment to forming new habits.
Table of Contents
Compare Electricity Rates
First of all, did you bother checking out other electric companies out there? Probably the best way to reduce your electricity bills is investigating available offers and options.
The more there is competition, the more you are likely to benefit from it and get a much lower price for the same electricity because some companies offer competitive rates that may prove to be much more affordable.
For example, Texas is known to have more residential electricity plans offered than any other country which only works to their benefit. You can find out more about it here.
Of course, cheaper electricity plans are the solution for some, but what can you do when there’s no such option, or it simply isn’t enough?
Switch to Alternative Sources of Energy
Taking your energy needs into your own hands can take a big slice of off your electricity bills. There are several ways you can introduce alternative sources of energy to your household.
Going solar can really take a significant chunk of your bills, even if you place a small and simple setup. This is a renewable energy source, which means that as long as the sun is up in the sky, you have your energy. Also, solar panels require little or no maintenance, the installations are very easy and require no adequate space or other external complications. So this can really prove to be a turning point when it comes to energy and money savings.
There are lots of ways to use solar energy, apart from having solar panels installed. Solar ovens, for example, prove to be useful for smaller expenditures, such as cooking. Solar power, however, doesn’t have to produce electricity only, you can also use it to heat your home with solar water heating. That same principle is used in solar air conditioning as well, but instead of heating, it serves to cool down the house.
Also Read: 9 Tips to Reduce Energy Consumption in the Summer
Change Your Power-Saving Habits
To be honest, many of the tips you can find out there are not sensible, and thinking of so many small rules can just stress you out and not give so much result.
Monitor the Electricity Usage
In order to be efficient, you have to be aware. So find a way to monitor your electricity usage, hourly, daily, monthly and so on. This will let you know just how much energy is going where and how which will help you rationalize your decisions. Keep track of it at least in the beginning to see how your changes are working out for you. Soon, you’ll know what’s working for you and is it worth the bother.
Wash Clothes in Cold Water
This is actually super useful and really doesn’t require much thought. Just knowing that half the use of energy in the washing machine goes to heating the water might make you consider this option. It is still effective but doesn’t cost as much. Also, be sure to wash in full loads once you do.
Clean the Fridge Condenser Coils
If you don’t know where these coils are, your fridge probably hasn’t been cleaned and draws a lot more energy than it normally would. They can be full of dust, so clean up the dust, it will allow your fridge to work more efficiently. Another thing you can do is to set your temperature to 38-40 degrees.
Replace the Lights
Firstly, turn off the lights if you’re not using the room. That is a simple habit. But you can improve this even more by buying energy-efficient light-bulbs. LED bulbs use 75% less energy and last much longer than incandescent bulbs.
Use a Smart Power Strip Plug
The average household has about two dozen things plugged in, all of the electronics and entertainment centers. Using these will make it easier to turn off multiple items at once and eliminate some stand-by load as well as phantom energy.
Smart power strip plug will reduce the phantom power consumption
Whichever you do, you will certainly end up more aware of your finances, and, hopefully, the upcoming results will come as such positive feedback that you might even consider expanding your saving routines.
