27 Tips to Cut Your Electric Bill in Half

by Chandler Crouch

Your monthly electricity bill is often the second-largest expense after your mortgage. Making some simple changes around your home could add up to big savings.

Here are 27 tips to cut energy costs

1. Shop for better electricity rates

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2. Cut Out Phantom Energy

Your TV, computer, Internet router, and kitchen appliances are making your electric bill higher. This is because they are continually working even while off. Use power strips and turn them off when electronics are not in use.

3. Use Dimmer Switches

Dimmer switches restart every 120 seconds, and the restart isn’t noticeable to the human eye. This essentially modulates how much energy is needed, saving energy and money!

4. Line Dry Laundry

Dryers are energy hogs, and cutting them out of your home routine can save you quite a bit of money.

5. Keep Your Fridge and Freezer Full

The food and drinks act as insulation, keeping your refrigerator from working so hard to cool things off. Energy saved!

6. Keep Refrigerator Coils Clean

Dirty coils make your fridge work harder. Check them every three months and keep them clean to save electricity and lengthen the life of your refrigerator.

7. Use Ceiling Fans

Ceiling fans help circulate air throughout your home and ease the job of your air conditioner.

8. Get an Attic Ceiling Fan

You may notice how hot it gets in the attic or on the top floor of your home in the summer. Having an attic ceiling fan can reduce hot air and allow your home to be cooled faster.

9. Keep the Sun Out

Direct sunlight can quickly crank up the energy consumption of your air conditioner. Close blinds and curtains on the sunny side of your home.

10. Get Annual HVAC Maintenance

To ensure your HVAC is operating efficiently, get annual maintenance done on it. The inspection can identify any wear and tear that could be causing your HVAC system to be working harder than needed.

11. Clean HVAC Filters

Cleaning your HVAC filter also promotes efficiency. Cleaning or changing your HVAC filter every 30 days can help you cut electricity costs. The added bonus is that your home will also have cleaner air flowing through it. This is a definite bonus during allergy season!

12. Turn Off Your Stove

This is an easy tip to implement to help cut electricity costs. When you use your electric stovetop or oven, turn it off a few minutes before your food is done. The heat built up can continue to cook your food while you cook off a few dollars a year from your electric bill.

13. Use LED Lighting

LED lights can reduce your lighting energy consumption by 90 percent. This can save you quite a bit of money long term!

14. Wash and Dry Dishes by Hand

Limiting any appliance use in the kitchen, including your dishwasher, will ultimately save you money.

15. Turn Off Dishwasher Heat Dry

If you can’t ditch the dishwasher, or if washing dishes by hand is not as cost-effective as your dishwasher, turn off the heat dry selection on your dishwasher.

16. Insulate Electrical Outlets

Install electrical outlet sealers behind outlets and switches to stop hot and cold air leaks. Want to go the extra mile? Place child-safety plugs into outlets after insulation is installed.

17. Install Storm Doors

Storm doors can save you a little bit on your electric bill. Installing them also makes you eligible for a $500 tax credit. The average storm door costs around $200, but if you only need two or three of them, the tax credit alone makes it worth it.

18. Do Energy Saving Landscaping

Planting trees to shade your home and your air conditioning unit can help naturally insulate your home, thus saving energy on heating and cooling. Decreasing the amount of rock and cement is also another great way to combine landscaping with energy efficiency.

19. Use Cold Water for Laundry

Do you do your laundry using hot water? This is not uncommon, but it is also a cause for higher electric bills. Your washer’s energy consumption can be 90 percent less if you use cold water instead of hot. This is due to the decreased cost in heating the water. A cost saving method to definitely consider!

20. Go Low-Flow During Showers

Less water flow during showers means less water to heat. This makes installing low-flow shower heads an easy way to start cutting your electric bill in half.

21. Buy Some Dryer Balls

It’s no surprise that running your dryer less will help you cut electricity costs. Dryer balls are great for cutting drying times. In fact, dryer balls can cut drying time by 25 percent. If line drying your clothes is not possible, dryer balls are a great energy saving alternative.

22. Install Motion Sensors

Lighting can drain energy fast, and it can be annoying to keep turning lights on and off as you move around your home. Installing light motion sensors can help.

23. Stop Preheating Your Oven

Contrary to many recipes, food that requires a lengthy cook time doesn’t actually need or benefit from a preheated oven.

24. Get More Use Out of Your Microwave

Microwaves use less electricity than your oven. And they also do not heat up your home, which is good if you are trying to reduce cooling costs in the summer.

25. Turn Your Lights Off

This is a must if you want to cut electricity costs. Turning off your lights will reduce energy consumption related to lighting, as well as energy consumption used to cool your home. This is because most light bulbs produce heat, even CFL bulbs.

26. Maintain Ducts and Vents

Yearly checks on your ducts and vents will help you identify any leaks and fix them. This can help you save big on your electric bill.

27. Turn Off Your Refrigerator Ice Maker

Did you know that you could decrease your refrigerator’s energy consumption by turning off its ice maker? That’s right. By eliminating the ice maker you can decrease your fridge’s energy use by as much as 20 percent.