How do reduce my powerbill?

Question

My partner and I live in a 2 bedroom house, our powerbills average $170 a month.

We have our hot water heated on a average temperature. We also have a small fridge freezer.

We do not have heaters (besides portable gas heater). We also do not have a dishwasher, dryer or washing machine.

I am forever checking that lights are turned off and that switches are turned off at the wall.

-things used daily-

Electric Jug

Laptop

Modem Router

TV Sky Box

-things used every few days-

Microwave

PS3

Oven

Hair straightner

Hair drier

Toaster

Stereo

Answer 1

If your power bill is only $170.00, I want to come live in your house! That is not bad, given the price of energy these days.

Answer 2

You should unplug things that aren't in use (i.e cell phone chargers.)

Answer 3

Based on what you say, your refrigerator is probably the biggest energy user in your home. How old is it? Newer ones are more efficient. It may need new coolant. Also, when was the last time you cleaned the cooling coils. That might help. You also may want to use more of those fluorescent light bulbs.  

Answer 4

Try turning all switches off at the wall before you leave the house in the morning or before going to bed. Ovens use quite a bit of power so do laptops and hair dryers but apart from this your usage looks pretty good, try ringing your power company they can advise you of power saving tips also they can check that you are on the right plan. Power has gone up though.

Answer 5

The largest consumers of power in your house are roughly in this order.

Air conditioner/Central Heat.  Set the Air Conditioner at the highest temperature setting you can stand or don't use it.  Same goes for the Heat, Lowest temperature setting you can stand without freezing yourself or the pipes in the winter.  In the summer, keep the shades drawn to keep the sunlight from heating up the interior as much as possible.  Opposite in the winter, let the sun in to help heat the interior.

Refrigerator/Freezer.  They use a lot electricity.  Turn the Ice box temperature to + 10° F if you do not have ice cream.   Set the refrigerator section to 40°.  

Check all of your electrical appliances.  Even your computer.  Make sure they are TURNED OFF when you are not using them.  Don't leave the computer running all of the time.  Set the energy power settings to hibernate automatically or turn it off when not using it.

Water heater.  Turn it to the lowest temperature available.  Usually this is 110° F.  An extreme measure is to unplug it when you leave for the day and plug it back in about about 20 minutes before you need it. American water heaters are designed to keep the water hot all the time.  The most efficient kind heat the water in a just in time basis.

Lighting.  If you haven't already, switch to fluorescent light bulbs in every fixture.  Yes this is an investment upfront but it will pay for itself.  

Hair dryers,  These are big draws of electricity. It doesn't seem like they would have a big effect but they do.  Use the lowest heat setting and the least amount of time to get the job done.

If you want to go to extremes, unplug every appliance you have.  Most of them draw some power even when they are in the off position.  This is because of internal batteries, instant power on features, LED displays etc.  

This is not an all inclusive list but you are at least asking the right questions.

Good Luck.