Savings from monthly expenses depend a lot on your electricity bill, especially if you have an elaborate way of living. Premises like buildings, offices, complexes, malls can burn a lot of money in just electricity, and this adds up a lot. Even for a small family, consuming electricity less can help you save money. These savings over a year, year-on-year can lead to good investments.
Cutting electricity bills by 75%, 90% are some of the trending topics online, but the steps do not have to be so drastic. And, they do not always mean switching off fans and lights. They also mean, and mostly refer to, shifting to renewable forms of energy. Having your own source of electricity is great. Let us quickly look at some basic tips and tricks below.
- Using a programmable thermostat in the US is a simple way to save money. This is because temperature-controlled rooms cost a lot as a measure of necessary convenience.
- Insulating your homes with extra care and stuff. The bad weather outside requires temperature-controlled living spaces. Because of the lack of insulation, electricity costs go up.
- Try reducing your clothing mess, and switch to more comfortable clothing. Cloth as per weather because this makes more sense, and also saves money from monthly power bills.
- Replacing air filters, electrical appliances that consume more electricity with energy-saving devices such as lights and stuff. Air conditioning is the 2nd most energy-consuming appliance.
- Finally, balance energy by using appliances in a more cost-effective intelligent way. Save electricity, for example, by washing clothes in normal water, lowering the temperature of water heaters, and so on.
The above tips are ways you can save money from monthly power bills in the US and usually northern countries. The geographic location makes a lot of difference in the ways electricity is consumed, and hence strategies are also different. However, many basic principles still work regardless of these constraints.
As you can notice, we still didn’t mention using renewable sources of energy. This is because many do not have the flexibility of making that shift. Having access to hydro, thermal, wind, or solar is not that common for all households, again depending on location. The above steps can be applied directly to the existing framework.
Energy Audits
One way for big locations that consume hundreds of units of electricity on a daily basis is to go for energy audits. As times and technologies change, energy-saving methods evolve. From using sealants on windows, fixing leaking ducts, installing dimmer switches, and smart power-saving equipment, a lot is possible. In a big scenario, these small changes affect a lot at the end of the month, and year.
At Home
When you are responsible for a small family, back at home, there are thousands of things you can do to take care of. For example, let us start using smart power strips. They are expensive but better. Swapping out light bulbs with energy-saving bulbs, adjusting the temperature of the water heater, using cold water to wash clothes, taking shorter showers, are some simple ways to reduce electricity bills. Or, just replace your showerhead with a better one.
Heating & Cooling
The biggest reason for US households and even big buildings for big electricity bills is heating and cooling. They offer big money-saving opportunities. Abad seal allows heat to escape and drains your wallet in the process. Giving your thermostat a nudge setting it back to 10 or 15 degrees when asleep can save a lot of money. The annual figures show that 10% of yearly electricity bills are just because of heating and cooling requirements. You can even adjust your fridge for storing things at a reasonable temperature, for example, 38-degrees for the fridge, and 5 degrees for the freezer.
Overall
To paint a simple picture, utility bills depend largely on heating and cooling, water, power, and lighting, and they together can help save 90% of your bills yearly. But, for that, people need to change their habits. Being aware of the irreversible effects of resource depletion is one way to start this journey. Then, the subsequent steps would be easier.