10 Steps to Lower Your Utility Bill Now
If you ever had the opportunity to live with the Frazier
family for more than one day you would constantly hear me telling my 18 year
old daughter Raela to turn off the lights.
That girl always leaves the light on in her bathroom and bedroom. She is the last of the Frazier Girls who is
still at home and just graduated high school and will be moving into her
College dorm at Cal Poly Pomona in September.
I have mixed feelings about her staying on campus but the utility bills
will go down. That I know for sure. Children think that electricity and water is
free and of course it is not. My
utilities are high and continue to rise because I am running the air conditioner
and running the swimming pool filter and not taking enough measures to reduce
these expenses. It's time to start
now. To say that Americans rely on electricity
too much is an understatement. According to a study conducted by the World Bank
in 2013, the average American consumes 13,395 kilowatt hours of electric power.
Unfortunately, this large dependency on electricity does not come cheap. The
average family in the United States spends more than $2,000 a year in utility
bills. It is $7,000 a year for my wife
and me.
Getting our living expenses under control is something we
should all strive to due. Do you have a budget? If not, it's time to get one. It is especially important during challenging
economic times. Getting our utilities
under control is probably the first place we should start because it’s good for
our financial health and good for the environment According
to Energy Star, more than half of a household’s utility bill involves cooling
and heating while a significant amount goes to water. The good news is that there are many smart and
easy ways that we can save money on our utility bills and most of these
strategies are commonsense:
- Turn off the lights – Mom was always right when she told you to turn the lights off when you leave a room. A house can save nearly $300 a year by simply turning lights off when not in use compared to keeping them on 10 hours a day.
- Use fans instead of air conditioning – According to a study conducted by Forbes in 2011, families can save about $400 a year when they use ceiling fans instead of air conditioning.
- Allow clothes to dry the old fashioned way – It’s time to go back to the old-fashioned way. Dry your clothes on a clothes rack or clothes line instead of using a dryer. Clothes, sheets and towels will even last longer when air dried because the heat from the dryer is destructive to fabric. According to the same Forbes report, families can save around $200 a year for doing this.
- Wash clothes in cold water – Almost 90% of the energy a washer consumes goes to heating the water which adds up to a huge energy consumption since the average American household has around 400 loads of laundry every year. When you start washing your clothes in cold water, savings can really add up. While cold water does not necessarily kill germs, you can reserve your hot water consumption for your extremely dirty laundry instead.
- Only run the dishwasher when full – It takes the same amount of water electricity to wash a half loaded dishwasher compared to a fully loaded one. Pack your dishwasher to the brim to save on electricity. You might also want to consider air drying once in awhile.
- Install a low-flow shower head – I was extremely surprised to know that old shower head models give out 4-5 gallons of water in a minute while the new low-flow ones only put out 1.5 gallons per minute. These new ones can be very forceful and they are easy to install.
- Use power strips – Most of your electronic devices still consume energy even though they are in sleep mode. By plugging these devices into power strips, you’ll only need to turn off the power strip when they’re not in use. Consequently, you get to use less electricity.
- Insulate your home – Although most homes today are designed to be energy-efficient, adding more insulation could help you save a lot more. Remember that insulation does not only keep warm air in when it’s chilly, but it also keeps cold air in when it’s hot. Adding insulation is a great investment since it pays for itself in lower utility bills. When families decide to add insulation and seal air leaks, they can save at least 12% on utility costs.
- Buy a programmable thermostat – A programmable thermostat may require a DIY project but it’s not necessarily difficult to do. This is actually one of the smartest things you can do to save on expenses. Turn the thermostat down during the winter and up during the summer to save on utility bills. You can also program it to a more comfortable temperature when you get home.
- Take Advantage of tax breaks – State and county initiatives exist to offer savings to families for using certain energy-efficient applicants. When large and expensive appliances meet certain energy requirements, rebates can be availed. You can check out the Database of State Incentives for Renewableand Efficiency.
Implementing just a few of these tips will probably add up
to significant monthly savings. There is no reason for us to cringe every time
the utility bill comes around every month. Who wouldn’t want to save a few
bucks? I know I do. All of these tips are extremely simple and
easy to do and you can start today. Don’t wait to be slapped by another expensive
utility bill next month. The Power Is
Now.
Sources:
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