There are always ways to save money; especially in a society like America or Australia. We just become so used to creature comforts we forget we don’t need a majority of the things we spend money on.
There are options for saving money you may never even have considered. Here we’ll cover five ways to cut down your electric bill in a practical way that doesn’t involve anything too extreme, but a few things you may not have considered.
Carefully Monitor Electricity Use To Find Eliminate Waste
Where is the highest draw for your electricity? Is it in heating, in A/C, among the electrical devices you use? Look at the things in your home that use electricity, monitor how long they regularly operate, and calculate out what percentage of your monthly bill they represent. Toasters, washers, dryers, dishwashers, HVAC—these tend to be the high costs.
That said, lights can be expensive, too. It’s much like a leaky faucet. Sure, it’s only a drip every two seconds; but you’re losing a gallon a day. Well, leave the lights on all day and night, and that costs you money. When you leave a room, turn off the lights.
Invest In “Low” Or “No” Energy Appliances
There are actually low-energy lighting fixtures that use motion sensors to illuminate a space when someone walks through, only turning on when people are in the room. Additionally, you can buy low-energy appliances built to use a minimum of electricity. Beyond that, certain products exist that use no electricity at all.
For example, there are gravity lamps that work sort of like a cuckoo clock, where weight in conjunction with a fulcrum provides energy. When the weight hits the ground, you just reset it, and off you go.
Lights like these being used as alternatives to primary lighting can pay for themselves over time. Beyond gravity lights, consider LEDs as a replacement for incandescent bulbs. These provide high levels of light for low levels of electricity, and may even be more energy-efficient than things like gravity lamps owing to initial purchase expense and overall lifetime.
Explore Local Energy Rates—That Alone Might Halve It
The larger your community, the higher the likelihood you’ll have more than one choice for electricity. The way that electricity is produced, and the way the company producing the electricity runs itself, will do much to impact the price. Sometimes people buy a property with utility bills that they never question, they just keep paying.
Well, if you go to the following website, you may find that cutting the electrical bill in half every month is as simple as switching providers. Some energy operations use wind and solar, and the result is it costs them more to produce electricity. Traditional methods are often a lot more cost-effective.
Change Your Expectation On Levels Of Comfort
Electricity overuse often has to do with creature comforts. Maybe you’ve got a room in your house with a little fountain that plugs into a wall. It’s beautiful, and provides a fine ambiance—but it’s on 24/7; meaning it’s a constant drain costing you a predictable amount of money every year. Perhaps find another way of getting that ambiance, or eliminate it.
Off-Grid Alternative Energy And Associated Tax Relief
A solar array will cost about $100 per 100-Watt solar panel. A full family house will want about 50 panels; so you’re looking at $5k for those alone. You’ll probably spend another $5k on mounting equipment, cables, surge controllers, power inverters, and battery arrays—if you go the DIY route, which most folks can figure out.
For another $5k, you can install a wind-turbine as a backup. For $15k, you can be grid-independent. Add a diesel generator in the garage in the event the sun goes away or the wind stops, and you’ve always got energy when you need it in a way that’s totally independent of grid-based electricity.
Americans use about 10,909 kWh (kilo-Watt hours) of electricity a year, at about 13.31 cents per kWh. That’s a little under $1,452 a year. Spend $15k on grid-independent power, and in less than 10 years, you’ll be making money on your investment—you’ll have totally eliminated the bill; that’s a bit more than halving it! Also, some states offer tax incentives for green energy, which can offset installation costs.
Energy Reduction Options To Consider
Explore alternative solutions and tax breaks, change comfort expectations, seek cheaper electrical options in your area, invest in low-energy devices like LEDs or gravity lamps, and monitor how you use electricity to trim the fat. Moves like these cut your electrical bill in half, and may almost eliminate it.
