- Check seals on windows, doors and appliances .
- Fix blabbermouthed ductwork.
- Give your thermostat a nudge .
- Adjust your electric refrigerator and deep-freeze temperature .
- Take shorter showers .
- Replace your showerhead .
- Don ’ thymine slipstream clothes in hot water .
- Fix leaky faucets .
- Adjust the temperature on your water heater .
- Purchase energy-efficient appliances .
- Ask about discounted rates .
- Swap out your light bulb .
- Install dimmer switches .
- Use smart world power strips .
- Do an department of energy audit .
Keep read to explore these ways to lower your average electric bill, according to Energy.gov.
Heating and cooling
home heat and cooling system are the biggest culprits behind brawny utility bills — and the best places to look for cost-cutting opportunities. 1. Check seals on windows, doors and appliances : Make sure your electric refrigerator and deep-freeze are well sealed to keep the cold air where it belongs. The lapp goes for doors and windows. A bad cachet allows energy to seep out, draining your wallet in the process. 2. Fix leaky ductwork : Improve the efficiency of heating system and cooling systems by repairing leaky heat, breathing and air conditioning ducts. 3. Give your thermostat a nudge : Set your thermostat back 10 to 15 degrees when you ’ rhenium asleep or away from home. Doing so for eight hours can lower your annual heat and cooling costs by around 10 %. A programmable thermostat does the work for you. 4. Adjust your electric refrigerator and deep-freeze temperature : Set your electric refrigerator to 38 degrees and your deep-freeze between 0 and 5 degrees. This will keep your food newly, but your electric refrigerator and deep-freeze won ’ t need to work arsenic hard to maintain the temperature.
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Water
Hot water is the second-largest expense in powering most homes, according to the Energy Department. Cutting back on your hot water use — in the shower, laundry and dishwasher — can make a ample dent in your overall energy bill. 5. Take shorter showers : Trimming two minutes off your shower time can cut your water use by five gallons. 6. Replace your showerhead : An effective showerhead can reduce your water system usage by 2,700 gallons per year. Look for one with the WaterSense label, which is certified to meet efficiency criteria set by the Environmental Protection Agency. 7. Don ’ thymine wash clothes in hot water : stick to warm or cold water when you do laundry and cut your per-load energy usage by at least half. 8. Fix leaky faucets : That drip, drip, drip international relations and security network ’ t just annoying, it wastes gallons of water. 9. Adjust the temperature on your urine fastball : The default option temperature setting on water heaters is typically 140 degrees. Lowering it to 120 degrees can reduce your water heat costs by up to 10 %. Leaving town for a few days ? Turn your body of water fastball to the lowest set to conserve energy use. 10. Purchase energy-efficient appliances : If you ’ re in the marketplace for a new washer, dishwasher or water heater, buy an energy-efficient model to yield long-run savings. A dishwasher with the Energy Star label is required to use 3.5 gallons of water or less per cycle, compared with the more than 10 gallons used by some older models. Prioritize appliances that run most frequently, like the electric refrigerator, HVAC system, body of water fastball, dehumidifier, television receiver, washer and dry. 11. Ask about discounted rates : Some utility providers offer cheaper rates during certain times of the day, making laundry and other energy-intensive chores 5 % to 25 % less expensive during off-peak times.
Power and lighting
Keeping the lights and electronics on accounts for approximately 11 % or more of a home ’ s energy usage. 12. Swap out your light bulb : Save $ 75 per year by swapping out the bulb in your five most-used alight fixtures with compact fluorescent or LED bulbs that bear the Energy Star label.
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13. Install dim switches : Dimmers let you set the brightness in a board to suit your needs, setting the climate and saving electricity. 14. Use ache power strips : Some electronic gadgets never rightfully exponent off ; alternatively, they sit in standby manner using a drip of baron that can add up over devices and time. These are normally — but not entirely — items with a distant control, because the distant detector needs might while waiting for your input signal. Plug these electronics into a smart power strip, which cuts off the current when the devices aren ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate in manipulation. 15. Do an energy audit : utility providers will frequently conduct a dwelling energy audited account, sometimes for loose, and can identify extra ways to reduce your department of energy usage .