A Deep Dive – Saving Money on Your Energy Bill

Do you just keep getting energy bills and wonder how you’ll pay them or keep up with them? We feel you.

With energy costs always being a significant expense for households, we thought this would be a good time to thoroughly examine how you can save your money on the energy you use. Hence, what is commonly known as a “deep dive.”

There have to be ways to save money, so you have more for the other wants and needs in your life.

We’ve done our research and found some inspiring ways for you to use your household energy in a more cost-effective manner

Please keep reading to learn what you can do to pay less in energy costs and save more money in your pocket.

How Much Energy Does a House in the U.S. Use? 🏠

We all know that we consume energy, mainly electricity, for our homes. We know this because a bill shows up every month charging us for our usage.

The power we use in our homes is measured in kilowatts, and our energy usage is measured in kilowatts per hour. A kilowatt is the amount of energy it takes to keep a 1,000-watt appliance running for an hour.

How much energy we all use depends on our dwellings because where we live and how it’s constructed affect the amount of energy we need and use.

Factors That Affect the Energy We Use ⚡️

Here are some factors that influence your energy consumption:

• The building materials used— The older your home, the more you can anticipate using additional energy because it was probably built with less-efficient materials, which allow hot air to enter or escape. 🏠
• The size of your home— The size of your home will impact your home power usage.
• The number of people who reside in your home— Every person uses energy, so the more people that live in your home, the more energy will be consumed
• The number of appliances — The more devices you use, the more energy usage there will be
• Types of appliances— Older, larger, and the more energy-sucking appliance will use more power
• The frequency that appliance is used— The more you use an appliance, the more energy you consume.
• Your geographic location— Depending on the extremity of your weather, hot or cold, the amount of energy you consume will differ.

Ways to Save Money on Energy Bills

Once we understand how we consume power and where we live can affect our energy bill, we can begin to make changes that will help reduce our energy consumption and monthly bills.

When Buying New Appliances 🔌

Let’s start with shopping for appliances. There are two factors to consider— 1. The purchase price of your appliance, and 2. The operating cost of your appliance over its lifetime. The second price is what you’ll be paying monthly to use the appliance.

There is help in keeping energy costs down when shopping for a new appliance. There are labels and features you can look for to help you purchase the products that operate at the lowest cost.

The Energy Star® Label —The products with this label most often exceed minimum federal standards for efficiency and quality. Look for this label.

The ENERGY GUIDE Label — The federal government requires most appliances to have a bright yellow and black ENERGY GUIDE label. These labels will give you the annual energy consumption and operating cost to compare yourself.

Ways to Lower Your Energy Bill at Home

Power and Lighting 💡

• Use LEDs (Light-emitting diodes). These are today’s most energy-efficient lighting technology. LEDs use up to 90% less energy and last 25 times longer than traditional lightbulbs. You can find them everywhere that sells lighting products.
• Switch from a rocker switch to dimmer switches— Dimmer switches use a “Triac Switch” to turn a light circuit on and off to reduce the energy flow to the lightbulb.
• Concentrate lighting in your home to the most needed areas for reading, working, and safety. Reduce your lighting in less-used areas.

Water 🚰

• Repair all dripping faucets. Leaky faucets are a vast waste of energy and cost you money.
• Insulate the outside of your electric water heater with an insulation blanket to reduce heat loss.
• Use pipe tape or half-inch foam for insulation wherever your water pipes are exposed.
• When you go on vacation or are away from your home for a lengthy time, turn your water heater to its lowest setting.

Heating and Cooling

Heating ☀️

• Seal up any air leakage found around windows and doors. Winterize windows with weather stripping and caulk. Mitigating these leaks can reduce heating costs up to 10%.
• Turn down your thermostat when sleeping or when you’re away from home for a lengthy period. *NOTE—don’t turn off your heating system entirely because this may cause your pipes to freeze in the winter.
• Vacuum or dust your radiator surfaces regularly. Dust and dirt can block the flow of heat.

Cooling ⛄️

• Keep a thermostat between 75°F – 78°F. Don’t overcool.
• Don’t block ducts or fans with furniture or other objects so cool air flows unencumbered.
• Use ceiling fans in partnership with an air conditioner. This will spread cooled air.
• Clean the outside air conditioner condenser one time per year. When cleaning, turn off the unit and spray the coils gently to remove any dust, dirt, leaves, and anything that will cover it during the year.

Washers and Dryers 👚

• Wash clothes in warm or cold water. Rinse in cold water.
• To reduce drying time to save energy and money, put a dry towel in the dryer with each load of wet clothes.
• Clean the lint trap after each load of laundry. Check the exhaust regularly. Dirty lint traps and clogged exhausts increase drying times and increase energy usage.
• Use less detergent per load and skip that extra rinse cycle. This will save water and time.
• Always run full loads. Running any less still uses the same amount of energy, but you’re getting less done.

Final Thought 💭

We’re all so busy working, raising our children, volunteering our time, taking care of family, etc., and spending time learning how to save money on energy bills can feel over-the-top.

May I ask that you take just a few minutes and consider what actions you can easily take from the above list to make a positive difference in your life?

Maybe wait for full loads before washing clothes or bundling up more in winter so you can keep your heat lower than usual, or even buy LED light bulbs the next time you go to the grocery store.

Consider making it a family game. Work together to see how you can lower your energy bills from month to month.

Saving money matters, right?

Here’s to your reduced energy bill! 🌺