Electricity is one of those monthly expenses that is somewhat in your control. After all, we demand the electricity, and then the electric company happily gives it to us and sends off the bill. Here are some ways that you can reduce your usage and reduce your cost.
There are two main types of ways that we use electricity in our homes. The first is on demand, such as when we enter a room and turn on the light, and the second is continuous demand, such as when we plug in the refrigerator and leave it plugged in for its entire lifetime.
To greatly reduce your electric bill, you need to address both types of electricity usage. Most of us are family with the on demand usage. We consciously try to turn off lights in unoccupied rooms and keep the air conditioning turned up a bit higher. There are great steps, but to do a little more extreme cutting, consider the following.
In the evening hours, could you take your book, craft or dinner preparation outside or on a porch to catch the day’s remaining natural light and avoid turning on the lights indoors? Could the whole family congregate in one room in the evenings, so there are fewer lights on at one time? Can you replace family activities that require lots of electricity, such as television viewing with ones that don’t, such as reading a book or playing a board game? Could you hang your laundry instead of using your dryer?
For continuous demand electricity needs, you probably are aware of trying to get the most efficient appliances, and that is a definite good start. To further reduce this energy demand, try some of these tips.
Get rid of the digital photo frame. While these little devices are very cool, they also use up a lot of electricity for their size. Identify vampire electronics, electronics that use electricity even when they are turned off, such as your television, cable box, etc. Put the vampire electronics on power strips that will cut off electricity when they are not in use. Find ways to make your major appliances even more efficient. For example, keep your freezer full but leave enough room in your refrigerator to allow for air circulation. These are two things that will improve performance.
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