How to Save on Utility Bills – 6 Great Tips Will Save You Money!
Utility bills. Ugh. Electricity, water, gas etc – they’re a monthly standard. We know they have to be paid – but wouldn’t it be good to pay less? In this post I’ll offer some tips on how to save on utility bills (without being cold or sitting in the dark!) – after all, there are better ways to spend – or to keep – your hard-earned money.
And when you use less electricity and gas, you’re being green and eco-friendly too, and helping to slow climate change / global warming. Read on for 6 great tips!
How To Save on Utility Bills #1 Turn It Down
No, not the temperature in your home, the temperature on your hot water heater. The less your hot water heater has to work, the more money and energy you save. Here’s how:
- Turn down your water heater. It doesn’t need to be boiling hot. If you have to turn on the cold water when hot water comes out, you can definitely turn down your water heater.
- Wash your clothes on cold or warm – very few items need a really hot wash because modern detergents work well
- Take shorter showers and stop leaving the faucet running.
- Use the recycle / eco option on your dishwasher, and only run it when it’s full
The more your water heater has to heat the water, the more money you’re spending.
How To Save on Utility Bills #2 Control the Sunshine
In winter, let the sunshine enter your home by opening curtains and windows if you can. The heat from the sun’s rays can warm your home by between 5 and 15 degrees (3 to 8 C) depending on the time of day. This can save your furnace / heaters a lot of extra effort and energy. It’ll also save you good money each month.
During the summertime, keep the sun’s rays out to keep your home cooler. Close the curtains and windows during the day. Shutters and verandas are really good for this too.
How To Save on Utility Bills #3 Tune Them Up
Properly maintain any appliances that use electricity or gas – that includes your refrigerator, hot water heater, furnace, air conditioner, stove and more. Make sure they’re in good operating condition with regular cleaning (including cleaning or changing filters) and routine tune-ups at least annually.. Make sure you’re not losing energy or efficiency.
How To Save on Utility Bills #4 Run at Night
Many appliances generate heat – your dishwasher, stove or cooker and your washing machine all get hot. That extra heat makes your air conditioner work extra hard. So run them at night when it’s cooler. Plus, you may benefit from using off-peak electricity which is cheaper.
In winter, you can run them when you want extra heat in your home – household chores can help to keep you warm!
How To Save on Utility Bills #5 Kill the Phantom
When your appliances, gadgets and electronics are off, they still use energy. Some machines use quite a lot of energy even though they’re on “stand-by”. Depending upon how many gadgets you have, you may be able to save a massive 10% off your energy bill by eliminating phantom load.
If you have many things to switch off, plug them into smart strips and turn off the strip at night.
Some items need to stay on – security cameras for example – but turn off the internal display at night – they’ll still record movement but you don’t need to see the display while you’re asleep.
How To Save on Utility Bills #6 Program It
Some more suggestions:
- A programmable thermostat saves a lot of energy if you have whole-house heating and cooling. It will only heat or cool when it is absolutely necessary.
- If you’re not using rooms (e.g. a guest bedroom), don’t heat or cool it until you’re ready to use it.
- Remember to dress for the seasons – there’s no point in wearing shorts and a t-shirt in the middle of a cold winter, when you could wear warmer clothes inside and turn the heating down.
Summary
These 6 tips and steps will help you take your money further and lower your utility bills year round. Lower your water temperature, use sunshine to help heat and cool your home, maintain appliances so that they operate efficiently, run some appliances at off-peak times for heating and cooling effects, kill the phantom load of gadgets on stand-by, and use a programmable thermostat.
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How do you save money on utility bills? Let me know in the comments below.
Warm regards,
P.S. Don’t forget to download your free green living handbook “Live Well, Live Green” here.
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Of all the things written the most important thing I think is to controlling the Solar Energy. The more we utilise the Energy in our favour the more we save on Bills. For Example we can save on Light bills throughout the day if we have a good glass roof opening installed. It will provide all the light needed for normal household works the whole daytime.