What do you do to save money on your electric bill?

Question

What do you do to save money on your electric bill?

Answer 1

Signed up for occasional peak a/c (it turns off for a period during peak times).

Use efficient bulbs in general lighting areas.

Replace old costly appliances (refrigerators are more efficient than even 10 years ago).  

Use fans when a/c is on to circulate air better (also use them when the temp/humidity outdoors is fine.

Got turbo fan in roof replaced (have to be careful because it's a potential fire hazard). It cools the attic so that the house doesn't heat up as much.

Answer 2

turn off unneeded lights nd use bulbs that consume less elctricity..

Answer 3

I use portable heaters and air conditioners instead of heating or cooling the entire house. Or I wear a sweater or blanket to warm up.

I use flourescent bulbs in every room.

I turn off everything when not in use.

Answer 4

Run my AC as little as possible.  When I'm sleeping the only thing drawing power is my refridgerator and my alarm clock.  Everything else is off as it should be.  During the day I use the sun's light as much as possible.

-Duo

Answer 5

In summer and winter close all curtains and blinds.  Only turn on lights that you need.

Answer 6

juz on my fan n refrigerator and on the TV if I watching it!

Answer 7

no ac, turn off electricity & unplug when not in use, use those new fangled lights, etc etc.

Answer 8

Use CFL Bulbs, Turn furnace down and A.C up a degree or 2, turn lights out. Wash in cold water,I also use my clothes line in the backyard whenever i can. I saved approx. $50.00 last summer hanging them outside. We also use solar light outside and we installed a solar panel on the roof to help out with things. We went to driving 1 car instead of 2. I walk to work everyday instead of drive, and we car pool when available. Do not leave the computer on when not using it and we shut off the monitor as well. BBQ as much as possible instead of using the oven.

Answer 9

i use CFL's and also had a new AC unit installed to replace the old one which was messing up anyway and it works beautifully. Also, i purchased the digital controllers for the AC which give many options of setting temperatures based on time of day and other factors. Not only does this new AC unit work great, it is of course more energy efficient.

Answer 10

1) I don't use my air conditioner by keeping windows open and clothes light. Use of fans keeps the air moving without the higher cost of running the AC.

2) I keep my house temperature around 50 degrees F, and wear more warm clothing in the winter months.

3) I use energy efficient light bulbs (flourescent) only.

4) I turn off anything I'm not using.

5) I use a tankless water heater that heats water on demand and does not have to waste energy keeping water hot when I'm not using it.

6) I don't use electric lights when there is enough daylight to do my daily tasks.

7) I rise at sunrise and go to bed at sunset to make use of daylight hours, thus reducing my use of electric lights.

Answer 11

i have all energy efficient light bulbs ,unplug anything electrical when I'm not using it smart strips are great all u have to do is flip the switch to not use power, buy a clothesline and air dry your clothes.set theromstat3 to 4 degrees above or below 74 saves alot of energy,don't really use lights during the day unless its really dark outside,also wash as much as you can in cold water

Answer 12

Just simple things like if you aren't in the room, don't have lights or ceiling fan turned on.  Also, even though it's getting warmer outside, if it isn't hot and there is a nice breeze we open the windows.  And, we use to have our computer on all day but now when we make dinner, we shut it off.  That's like 2 hours saved.  That's all for now.  Every little bit helps.

Answer 13

I've tried to become very conscious of what I'm using.

A few things that have lowered our electric bill.

Turning off lights and using the sunlight to light and warm a room.

Taking shorter showers to eliminate our electric water heater

Drying clothes outside on nice days instead of running the dryer.

Only doing full loads of laundry and washing in cold water.

Unplugging things that draw electricity even when they are not in use. (phone chargers battery chargers etc)

Using solar and motion lights outside instead of turning them on and leaveing them on.

Switching the lightbulbs in our home to the energy saver kind

Answer 14

All of the answers are great and will help but if you have an electric hot water heater, you should change it out to natural gas or propane. We changed ours out and it cut our electric bill from around $140-80 a month to $60-70 a month! It made a huge difference! If you combine all the answers, it's sure to help a lot!

Answer 15

Turn off lights.

Turn off/unplug electronics when not in use.

Minimize use of fans and AC.  (Open windows at night to let in cool air and put fans on a lazy spin during stale days.)

Use CFL bulbs.

Do things by hand (washing dishes, mixing batter, etc.).

Answer 16

There are many services and tips provided by local energy companies.  The Southern California Gas Company offers rebates and incentives for retrofitting and/or buying energy efficient products.  

Check out the Southern California Gas Company's energy efficiency website at http://socalgas.com/energyefficiency/

Answer 17

When I'm home during the day, I open the blinds to use natural light. When I'm not home during the day, I keep them closed so the sun doesn't shine in and heat the room. Also, I unplug things when I'm not using them (i.e. toaster, blender, etc.).

Answer 18

I turn off anything I can when it is not in use and run ceiling fans in all of my rooms so I only have to turn on the air conditioning when it's super hot outside.  Also make sure your home is adequately insulated.  That can really save you big money.

Answer 19

Get some CFL bulbs.  Granted, they're a bit priceir than normal incandescent bulbs are but they last for years and they use less electricity.  A 26 watt CFL bulb is equivalent to a standard 100 watt incandescent bulb.  A 20 watt CFL bulb is equivalent to a 75 watt.  You can't use them with dimmers though but in places you don't dim the lights they will work great.

Most electric devices "vamp" power even when turned off.  You can buy power saver strips to lower the amount of vamping or unplug them when you're done with them.

Don't use your air conditioner until it gets into the upper 80's or 90's.  Even when you use it, keep it at the upper 70s and dress to stay cool and comfortable.  You can use fans to circulate the air throughout your house if you don't have central air and are using a one room AC.

Answer 20

I use the washing machine and dryer only at night, with cold water, and the washing machine is a low-efficiency model.  I live in California and when we had the rolling blackouts, they said to use major appliances at night. Not sure why.  

Our waste management company provides three cans.  The largest is for green (yard) waste, the middle size is for recycling glass, aluminum, and plastic, and the smallest can is for garbage.  The smallest can is rarely even half full.

We no longer buy bottled water.  I bought some great refillable, no-spill sport-top water bottles at Hold Everything.

I exchange used ink cartidges (refilled, of course) at Office Depot for a free ream of recycled paper. Save money and the environment.

I plan my routes and errands, so I am making one trip to cover them all.

Answer 21

We just replace 24 of the old style incandescent light bulbs with the new Compact Fluorescent bulbs.  They seem to give off more light and will last much longer, with less energy usage.

Answer 22

Turn off unneeded lights, fans, TVs.  Open windows when the outside air can do the job of AC and close them when the day is cool, before it heats up the place again and makes you head for the AC again.

Answer 23

turn off lights when exiting the room of no use. unplug things not being used. use more energy efficient utilities.

Answer 24

I have a programmable thermostat that I can set for day/night temps, so it saves a ton. CFLs of course. I wash laundry in cold, hang to dry if possible. Turn off lights and other things when leaving the room. Turn off my dishwasher after it runs so it doesn't run the end heating cycle since it doesn't let me turn it off(not an option, older model).

That's all I can think of right now.

Answer 25

not use the air to much and turn the lights off each time you leave.

Answer 26

hand wash clothing in my backyard and let the sun dry it, use lighting only where needed

Answer 27

i keep lights etc off most of the time and even at night i usually dont turn them on unless i am cooking.  there is enough light from street lights outside shining in to at least let me see for the most part where i am walking around in here.    i wash clothes in cold water only and do full loads.  i unplug most appliances etc when im not using them except for the stove,  washer and dryer because the plugs are in an inconvenient place.  in the cold weather i only turn my furnace on about an hour or 2 at night before i go to bed and sometimes an hour or so in the morning but with some exceptions and many days i dont turn it on at all in the winter (and i live in the buffalo area), but i do use a portable little heater for this room where i spend most of my time.  i live alone so its easier to do these things.

Answer 28

Install overhead fans but turn off when you leave the room.

Programmable thermostat.

Call electric co. to sign up for a savings by doing washing and drying clothes at off peak hours.

Turn off lights especially in the summer when the lights actually make the house hotter.

The electric co. can come to your house to check all kinds of things to find out how you can save electricity.

Answer 29

I work on a ship 8 months a year.   Everything at home gets turned off/unpluged and the company pays for everything the moment I leave home.

Answer 30

Close off heat or air conditioning to unused rooms.  Use programmable thermostat and keep as low as possible. Wear sweater or sweatshirt in winter.  Use compact and other fluorescent lighting.  Turn off lights, computers and other appliances when not in use, including unplugging them if they are in sleep mode.  When buying new appliances check for the Energy Star rating and buy only power efficient appliances.  Set reasonable limits on using TV, computers, stereo, etc.

Answer 31

well for starters, don't forget the simple things like truning off lights and electronics when not being used.  you can also change you light bulbs to lower wattage bulbs or even to new flourecent light bulbs.  you should also check your appliances.  the older your appliances the more likely they are to use more energy.  also, the dishwasher and the clothes washer and dryer are huge power users.  cut down the number of times you use them each week by doing larger loads.  also, check your thermostat,  keeping the temp in your home between 70 and 72 degrees will help your power bill as well.  i only run my ac for a few hours in the day and just before bed.  you should also check around your doors and windows to ensure that they are properly sealed and there is no draft.  check in the attick also to make sure that the insalation is up to code.  an attick fan helps also by pulling the hot air out of the attick.

i checked on all of these things and lowered my power bill from 500 bucks a month down to 200.  plus, some power companies will give you a discount for using energy saving appliances and lighting.