How can I save more electricity?

Question

Our bill came this month and it's sky high! What can we do to save electricity? What appliances use the most?

Answer 1

There are quite a lot of little things you can do in your home to reduce your electricity and fuel bills. Firstly, if your bill is high for electrcity, is your heating electric or do you have an electric immersion heater? These are usually quite expensive to run. If you have Central Heating use your boiler for hot water rather than an immersion heater, if not, try to use it sparingly and wash up all in one go so you don't have to keep filling the sink.

If you're heating is electric, make sure you have all the insulation for your walls and loft as is possible to minimise heat loss and so reduce need for heating; also turn your room stat down to around 18-21, just 1 degree can save you money. These are all good things to do to save on your heating bills in general no matter what fuel you use.

To save money on electric due to appliances the biggy is to make sure you have switched things off properly and do not leave things on standby, especially TVs, DVDs, digiboxes and monitors/laptops.

Switch lights off when you leave a room; defrost your fridgefreezer regularly tomake sure it's as efficient as possible and replace your light bulbs with energy saving bulbs. You can get these for free from some gas/elec companies so give yours a ring and just ask, otherwise all major supermarkets sell them now.

These are all the little things I can think of off the top of my head but visit the link below to the Energy Saving Trust as they can give you som excellent tips on their website as well as the contact number for your local energy advice centre who will be able to discuss with you what specific things you can do in your home and advise you about reducing your elec bill and/or gas bill.

Oh, I almost forgot, log onto uswitch.com and see if it is worth switching your supplier, this is definitely worth doing if you haven't switched before or for a long time. There are some good deals out there that could save you money, especially if you pay by the cheapest method with is Direct Debit and manage your account online. If you don't want to switch supplier, it's definitely worth paying by Direct Debit if you can as this is the cheapest payment mwthod and you get discounts for doing so.

OK I am done now, sorry for the long winded message, Good luck.

Answer 2

The biggest things that eat up power are:

Water Heaters - Turn the thermostats down.

Dish Washers - Only wash when FULL and if possible do not use hot dry.

Clothes Dryer - Not much you can do here. Try to dry the clothes just until they are dry.

Clothes Washing - Use COLD water only.

Bathing - This uses the hot water, ake cooler showers and baths and don't fill the tub as much and take shorter showers.

Lights - Get into the habit to turn lights, fans, TV's, stereos, etc OFF when people leave the room.

A/C - Turn this down to a level where its just comfortable. If you used to set this at 66 try 74.

Bulbs - I changed all of my bulbs out to CF's and I didn't see much of a difference for what I had to pay for the CF bulbs.

TV's, Stereo's, and PC's use a minescule amount of power due to their electronics which use almost nothing, so they are NOT a major concern.

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Answer 3

Switch all appliances (TV ,hi-fi,computers, toasters, mobile chargers and similar items) off at the wall. Turn heating down a couple of degrees. Only boil enough water for your requirements in the kettle. If you need to boil water in a saucepan before adding cooking ingrediants boil the kettle as it uses less power. Switch cooker off a few minutes before finish time as electric stove plates retain heat after switching off. If cooking something that could freeze well make a big batch as it takes the same power to cook a small quantity as a large one. Then you can freeze the excess and have ready made meals. Energy saving light bulbs and switch off lights when leaving the room. Only wash full loads in washing machine and dish washers at lowest possible temp. (I wash my laundry on cold and it works fine).

Answer 4

Get a programmable thermostat for your AC so that it's set to the most comfortable setting when you're at home and shuts off more often when you're away from home, wrap your hot water heater, and set your hot water heater on a schedule (15 minutes before you & your family take showers, the hot water heater comes on...have it turn off during times when you don't usually use hot water). You may also want to replace your refrigerator if it's really old...the newer ones are more efficient.

Answer 5

Energy saving light bulbs make a big difference, only put as much water as you need in the kettle instead of filling it every time, Turn things off and dont leave them on standby and hang clothes to dry instead of tumble drying if possible.

Answer 6

anything that produces heat uses a lot of electricity.
check you wattage rating on the item, light bulbs are 40 - 140W, this is relatively low, tv's are about 50W, but irons hairdryer kettle etc are 1000+ Watts.

Answer 7

well 1. turn off the lights and open the windows
2.shut down the computer when ur not using it
3. get out more and use the computers at the library instead
hope i helped!!!
oh and computers and tv's use the most electricity!!!

Answer 8

Clothes dryers, dishwashers use a lot, of course air conditioners are very high too.

Answer 9

washing machine uses a lot

PC uses a lot

kettle uses a fair bit

switch off standby at night

use candles

Answer 10

use some special lighting bulbs which do not use much power.