Skip to main content

The cost of living is increasing and just keeping the lights on is expensive. Never mind if you want to have air conditioning, hot water, and a furnace. And most people want these things! The typical family spends around $1,400 a year on utilities according to a study from the Energy Department.

If you make small changes to your household habit so you can save money every year. You could even save up to 25%.

15 Top Tips To Reduce Your Energy Spend

  1. If seals on the doors and windows are broken, then replace them
  2. Make sure there are no leaks in types
  3. Turn down your thermostat
  4. Adjust the temperature in your freezer or fridge
  5. Shorten the length of your showers
  6. Replace your shower head so there’s no leaking
  7. Wash your clothes with cold water
  8. Turn down the temperature on your water heater
  9. If you’re buying new appliances then buy energy-efficient ones
  10. Ask for discounts
  11. Replace your light bulbs
  12. Put dimmer switches in
  13. Use. Intelligent power switches
  14. Audit your energy usage

Heating and Cooling

The main cause of high energy bills is heating or cooling your home. This means it’s the best place to look for any opportunity to cut costs. Energy usage falls into your ‘needs’ category in your 50/30/20 budget and so lowering these costs will save you money.

Check Your Seals

We don’t think about it, but if you check your seal on a fridge or freezer you can make sure the appliance stays cooler for longer. Also, look at doors and windows to see if the seals are tight. If the seal is not tight, heat can get out or in regardless of the season.

Fix Any Leaking Ductwork

Make sure that any leaky heating, ventilation, or air conditioning ducts are fixed. Much like windows, anything you can do to keep the heat in or out will help.

Turn down your thermostat- if you have a smart thermostat, then set it automatically to decrease the temperature when you’re asleep or out of the house. Otherwise, when you leave the house, remember to turn it down. This could save you up to 10% on your annual bills.

Change the temperature on your fridge or freezer – keep your fridge at around 38° and your freezer anywhere between zero and 5°. At these temperatures. It will keep your food fresh but won’t cause extra drain on your utility bills.

Reduce Water

After energy usage then water is the second highest cost in a home. Anywhere you can cut back on hot water usage will save you money over the long run.

Shorten Your Showers

if you take just 2 minutes off of your shower time, you can save up to 5 gallons of water. This can really add up over a year.

how-much-water-can-you-save

Replace Your Shower Head

If you replace your shower head with one that is a low-flow unit, then you’ll be saving water every day.

Wash Your Clothes With Cold Water

When washing your clothes, try to do it with cold water or lukewarm water to save energy. You don’t always need to wash with high heat.

Fix A Leaky Faucet

It may seem like a couple of drips here and a couple drips there but over a year it really adds up to gallons and gallons.

Turn Down The Temperature On Your Water Heater

If you look at the default temperature on a water heater, it’s usually 140°. If you turn that down to 120°, you can reduce your heating bills by up to 10%. If you’re traveling or you’re going to be out for the day, you can turn off your heater to save energy.

If Buying New Appliances, Buy Energy Efficient Ones

If you have to buy any dishwasher new and make sure it’s an energy-efficient one. If it has the energy star label, it has to use 3.5 gallons of water or less every cycle. Older models can use up to 10 gallons. That’s a saving of 6.5 gallons per wash.

Ask For A Discount

If you can get a discount from your energy provider, you can be saving money every day. Some providers offer cheaper rates at different points during the day which could save you up to 25%.

Lighting And Power

Power and lighting add up about 11% of a home’s energy usage so it’s worth looking at.

Buy New Light Bulbs

You could save up to $75 per year if you swapped out light bulbs in your five most used rooms. You can change them with LED or compact fluorescent bulbs that are certified by energy star.

Put In Dimmer Switches

If you can dim the lights you can save more energy because less energy is used for lights that are dimmer.

Use Smart Extension Cables

Some chargers never switch off even if they don’t have anything attached to them. If you use a smart power strip then it will cut the power even when the device is off.

Look At Your Energy Usage

Some energy companies provide free energy audits. Take them up on the service so that you can see where you’re using the most power and where you can save the most money.

Richard Allan

Richard Allan

Richard Allan is the founder of Capital Bean and a passionate writer about personal finance, budgeting and how to save money at home and work.

Leave a Reply