Lower Electric Bill in 8 Easy Steps
You can have a lower electric bill by following these east steps. According to the Naples Electric Company FPL, almost half of your energy usage comes from cooling and (though rarely) heating your home. Here are some suggestions to reduce your energy bill through paying attention to your use of electricity in your home.
- Install ceiling fans, preferably in every room will create a lower electric bill. The ceiling fans can be used with your air conditioner. By moving the air around, it makes the room feel cooler. When you’re not in the room, turn the ceiling fan off.
- A regular schedule to replace or clean your air filters in air conditioners will lower electric bills. There are two options available, the disposable filters and the washable filters. We use the washable ones and every three months power wash them, let them dry and re-install.
- Your thermostat set to a reasonable temperature will lower your electric bill. During the day, your air conditioner can be set as high as 79 degrees (although some people say 80 but that just seems too high for me). At night, you’ll turn the temperature down to what’s comfortable for your sleeping conditions.
- Install a programmable thermostat, like the Nest to lower your electric bill. Some programmable thermostats allow you to control the temperature when you’re not home and they will save you money by controlling the temperature when no one is home, when you’re on vacation or at night.
- During the day, if you’re not home, consider closing the blinds and window coverings to keep the sunlight out and the home temperature moderate.
2. Replace and update your lights.
Another way to get a lower electric bill is to upgrade your lighting. Much of your energy budget is used in lighting. Incandescent lights are inefficient. They use only 10% of the energy they consume is turned into light and the rest is wasted heat. That’s not what you want in the middle of the Florida summer.
We’ve converted all the lights in our home to either CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) or LEDs (light-emitting diodes) and they can reduce your energy use by up to 75%. The options that are now available from Home Depot or Lowes for these lights are really cutting edge and attractive for homes of every price range.
The lights are expensive to purchase but you’ll see the difference in a lower electric bill immediately. The technology is also much better than when those lighting options first came out and there’s no waiting time for lights just immediate bright and light in your home. Personally I prefer LEDs to CFLs as they last longer, consume less energy, have no mercury (which CFLs do which poses a disposal issue when they finally burn out) and there are some great options in LEDs.
3. Ways to brighten your home without using electricity.
Some other options to add light to your home without spending a dime on electricity. Skylights are great but it’s important to make sure that they are installed properly so that there won’t be leaks around them that can cause damage to your roof. Suntubes which use a series of lenses/mirrors to bring the sunlight down a tube into your home.
4. Laundry Machines use a lot o electric energy
To receive a lower electric bill, don’t do laundry until you have a full load not a half load. For procrastinators, at last there’s a reason to dawdle and put off laundry. Your dryer will breathe better and perform better for you if you clean the lint trap every time before you use it. Your clothes will definitely dry faster as well if you make sure that they’re spun dry or wrung out before they go into the dryer.
5. Seal the cracks in windows and doors and insulate to get lower electric bill.
To lower your electric bill, seal your home and insulate it well whether you’re living in Naples Florida or Boston MA. It’s a cost effective way to make your home more energy efficient and reduce your electrical use and bills. FPL offers a free energy use evaluation wherein a technician will come to your home and check to see where your energy use could be improved and make suggestions about additional insulation. Places to check are around doors, attic hatches, windows and making sure there’s enough insulation in the attic.
6. Water efficient shower heads and toilets.
- Lower electric bill with low-flow showerheads which can have different flow rates and some with pause buttons to shut off mid shower while you lather up. I must confess, I do not have low-flow showerheads, I like a shower that has some water pressure and at the time, I couldn’t find one that I liked.
- Dual flush and lower flow toilets are another great option to achieve lower electic bill. Older toilets should be replaced with modern low-flow 1.6 gallon toilets and that can save you several thousand gallons of water per year. A dual flush lets you choose between liquid and solid waste flushes and reduces your water use even more.
7. Appliances and electronics consume a lot of energy.
Energy star appliances that not only use less power but reduce carbon emissions are good for a lower electric bill. If your cell phone charger is plugged in all day, you’re wasting money. Those energy vampires are using energy even when you’re not plugged into them so put them on a power strip and flick the switch! Also, if you’re not using your computer, turn it off or at least turn it to an energy conservation mode that kicks in after a certain amount of time. Another option is to reduce the amount of time that your pool pump runs during the day as it can run for less time during the summer than the winter. Ask your Pinch a Penny salesperson or pool tech about that!
8. Ovens heat up your home – Use efficient ones to get a lower electric bill
Electric energy is often used for cooking. It’s also a way to heat up a home and make the a/c run harder but also increases your energy use. Use the top rack of the oven as it’s hotter. Convection ovens are much more efficient, cook food faster and more evenly. Microwaves are even more efficient but I don’t think you can bake a great cake in a microwave! When using the stove top, use lids on pans and pots to hold the heat in and cook more quickly. A lower electric bill translates to lower emissions from power plants and is also good for the environment.
