It’s crazy how quickly an electrical bill can reach new heights and how hard it is for homeowners and renters to get it back down. All it takes is one weekend of leaving your air conditioning blasting or even leaving the refrigerator door open for too long to end up with a totally different bill than what you expected.
But, the good news is bringing your electric bill back down doesn’t have to be as complicated as you might expect. Here are five hacks you can start doing today to get the electricity in your home under control.
1. Turn the Air Down When Going Out
Think about how much time you spend out of the house every day. There’s no reason to leave the air conditioning on blast while you’re gone. It’s better to set the air temperature to something a little more similar to the environment outside.
This way, you still have air flowing through the house but it’s nowhere near as expensive for your HVAC unit to produce. Plus, it keeps the house comfortable for indoor pets and welcoming for when you come home.
2. Close the Curtains in Unoccupied Rooms
What if you work from home or spend your weekends mostly at home? To save on air conditioning when you’re hanging around the house, be more mindful of the conditions of each room.
Think beyond the airflow. If there’s a certain room in your home that’s getting a significant amount of direct sunlight, it’s probably getting hot.
This means it requires more electricity for the air conditioning to work in this room than in others. The solution is to close the curtains in unoccupied, sunny rooms so the rest of the home’s airflow isn’t compromised and the air conditioning isn’t overworked.
3. Wash Clothes in Cold Water
It’s one thing to manage natural heat and another to pay attention to the heat you’re generating in your home – especially water heating. You don’t have to start taking cold showers or fewer baths. But, you can start doing your laundry with cold water instead of hot water and conserve the electricity needed to do laundry.
Whether you’re a single-person home or you do laundry for the whole house, this is bound to have a significant improvement on your electricity bill.
4. Stock the Fridge
Here’s one of the most interesting ways to save money on electricity: spend a little more on groceries that go in the fridge! When the fridge is empty it’s much harder to keep at a cold temperature than when there’s a bunch of food in it.
5. Invest in Energy-Efficient Bulbs and Appliances
The final way to lower your electric bill is to buy a few energy-efficient items for the home. The easiest investment is to buy new light bulbs to replace your old, outdated ones.
More effective (and expensive) upgrades range from energy-efficient kitchen appliances and laundry systems to smart water faucets and solar panels. When transitioning from standard energy to energy-efficient and reusable solutions, you want to make sure you have the phone number for emergency electricians, just in case.
Make Your Electrical Bill Much More Manageable
It’s one thing to read about lowering an electrical bill and another to make it happen. Don’t hesitate to apply these tips. The sooner you do, the quicker your bill starts going down!
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