40 Ways To Save Money on Your Electric Bill

Are you looking to lower your electric bill? Tired of feeling no control over how expensive it can be? We’re here to help.

It seems like all the tips you find online want you to buy a new hot water heater, take cold showers, or move into a more energy efficient house. That seems a bit pricey and unreasonable.

There are tons of better ways to lower your electric bill.

Below is a list of simple, inexpensive, and effective ways to lower your electric bill. Take a look at the list and give a few of them a try. The list is categorized in order of average residential energy use to help you focus on what’s most important. As an example, it’s easier to lower your electric bill by changing how you heat and cool your home, rather than using your dishwasher more efficiently.

Heating & Cooling

Average electricity usage: 47%

Heating & Cooling accounts for nearly half of energy consumption on average. If you want to lower your electricity bill, you should start here.

1. Change your air filter regularly. Air won’t flow as freely throughout your home if your air filter is dirty.
2. Buy a space heater instead of turning on the heat. You can heat the room you’re in without heating the entire house.
3. Buy a heated blanket instead of turning on the heat. You can heat your bed without heating the room.
4. Make sure your windows and doors are well-sealed. You don’t want the air escaping.
5. Turn on the ceiling fan instead of turning on the AC. You can cool the room you’re in without cooling the entire house.
6. Buy a portable fan instead of turning on the AC. No ceiling fan, no problem.
7. Open your windows and let nature heat and cool your home. If it’s a nice temperature outside (and bugs won’t fly in), it’s a great option.
8. Open the shades if you want your house to be warmer. The sunlight will increase the temperature in your house.
9. Close the shades if you want your house to be cooler. The shade will decrease the temperature in your house.
10. Buy energy-saving curtains if the ones you have let in too much light.
11. Only heat your home to be “warm enough”. Don’t make it any warmer than it needs to be.
12. Only cool your home to be “cool enough”. Don’t make it any colder than it needs to be.
13. Turn off the AC when you leave home. After all, you’re not there to use it.

Water Heater

Average electricity usage: 14%

There are ways to make your water heater more efficient and to use it more efficiently.

1. Turn the water off when you brush your teeth. The less warm water you use, the less electricity you use.
2. Take quicker showers. You don’t have to take a cold shower, just don’t stay in there for too long.
3. Insulate your hot water heater to make it easier to heat the water.
4. Turn down the temperature of your hot water heater. The hotter you want the water, the more electricity you’ll end up using.

Washer & Dryer

Average electricity usage: 13%

As you can imagine, it takes quite a bit of electricity to do your laundry. Using your washer and dryer more efficiently and at the right times will help you lower your electricity bill.

1. Unplug your washer and dryer when not in use. Simply having them plugged up uses electricity.
2. Use the energy-saving feature on your washer and dryer, if possible.
3. Clean the lint filter before using your dryer. This will make it easier to dry your clothes.
4. Wash your clothes in cold water when possible. The less hot water you use, the better.

Lighting

Average electricity usage: 12%

The lighting in your home has a big effect on your energy usage. Changing the type of lights you use and how often you use them, can help lower your electricity bill.

1. Switch over to LED light bulbs.They’re way more energy efficient than traditional light bulbs. They may cost a bit more upfront, but it’ll save you money in the long run.
2. Turn off the lights when you leave the room and when you leave your home. If you don’t want the house to be completely dark, leave one light on. Your choice, just don’t leave all the lights on. That’s wasteful.

Electronics

Average electricity usage: 4%

If you’re like me, you have more than a few gadgets and electronics. Make sure you’re using them properly if you want to lower your electricity bill.

1. Use the energy-saving feature on your TV. This usually means that your screen won’t be as bright, similar to the power-saving feature on your cell phone.
2. Turn off your TV before you go to bed. You’re not watching it, so stop wasting electricity.
3. Watch less TV. If you love watching TV, consider scaling it back a bit and finding something else to do.
4. Unplug your devices when they’re done charging. Your gadgets can only go up to 100% battery life.
5. Unplug the chargers from the wall when you’re not using them. Your chargers are still using electricity even when they’re not charging anything. So unplug them too.
6. If you have a laptop and a desktop, try to use the laptop more. Laptops use way less energy.
7. Don’t use screensavers on your computer. Always put it to sleep.
8. Unplug your printer when you’re not using it.
9. If you don’t want to unplug your printer, try just turning it off instead. Our printer stays off until we’re ready to use it. It only takes a few seconds to start up.

Refrigerator

Average electricity usage: 4%

You might not know this, but there are ways to lower your electricity bill that involve your refrigerator.

1. Set the temperature of your fridge so that it’s a tad bit warmer. It’ll still be cool enough to keep your food safe.
2. Keep your freezer full. The less space there is to keep cold, the less electricity is used.
3. Make sure your refrigerator is well-sealed. You don’t want any cool air getting out.

Electric Oven

Average electricity usage: 3-4%

If you like to cook or bake, there are few changes you can make.

1. Use a toaster instead of an oven when possible. Don’t put your toast, bagels, or waffles in the oven if you own a toaster. Toasters use less electricity and toast your food faster than an electric oven.
2. Cook food with the lid on when possible. Keeping the heat inside helps the food cook faster.
3. Thaw your food before cooking it. This speeds up the cooking process.

Dishwasher

Average electricity usage: 2%

Much like doing laundry, I haven’t found anyone who likes washing dishes. With that said, there are ways to wash dishes without using a bunch of electricity and it doesn’t involve washing them by hand.

1. Only use your dishwasher at night. A lot of electricity companies offer cheaper rates during these non-peak hours.
2. Only use your dishwasher when it’s packed full. If you all you have is a couple of plates and forks, hold off on using the dishwasher.
3. Use the energy-saving feature on your dishwasher if it has one.
4. Consider air drying your dishes instead of letting your dishwasher heat dry them. You can let them dry on the counter or leave the dishwasher door open. Your choice.