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

Seems like everyone is talking about the CFL lights and they are SO right! Our electric bill was outrageous, and we switched to the CFL bulbs, and we saw a dramatic drop. I'm sure if you have any way to insulate your home that would make just as much if not more of an impact. If your home traps your heat or air conditioning inside not as much of it escapes, and your heater and air conditioner don't have to work near as hard, and it saves big time. In the summer take your thermostat up as high as you can without being uncomfortable, and in the winter take it as low as you can without being uncomfortable, and when you're gone for the day or for vacation turn the a/c off, and in the winter turn the heat down really low (not off, cause you don't want water lines freezing and busting), and then all the simple no brainers... turning stuff off when you're not using them. We have lizards we have to keep warm, and it kills our elec. bill, so we're always looking for ways to save! Best of luck!

Answer 3

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.

Answer 4

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 5

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 6

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 7

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 8

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 9

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 10

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.