How to Save on my Utility Bills

In a time when every penny counts saving on utility bills is very important. There are several things you can do that cost little or no money to help save on utility bills. Many of these changes seem small but over a short time they will really add up. Give these tips below a try and see if they help lower your utility bills.

Step 1: Stay clear of floor vents

Move any furniture or rugs that may be blocking your floor vents. This will restrict the air flow and cause you to raise your thermostat and ultimately raise your heating bill. Allowing the vents to have room around them will more efficiently heat your rooms.

Step 2: Clean your light bulbs

We have all heard that changing to the new CFC bulbs will help lower your electric bill but did you know you also need to dust your light bulbs to keep them working at their best. This will also help your old style of light bulbs. Dust build up on light bulbs can cut your light output by about 25 percent, that's a fourth less light! When you room seems darker you will turn on another light causing your electric bill to increase. Just add a few seconds to your regular cleaning schedule and dust your light bulbs when you dust your shelves.

Step 3: Watch your power in the kitchen

Always use the microwave instead of the oven when possible, it takes less time and therefore less energy to cook in the microwave so that's an automatic savings. This saves about $0.15 cents per hour used, might seem like small change but it can add up after a month.

Always use the toaster oven instead of the microwave when possible, it takes even less power to run the toaster oven than the microwave. A typical toaster oven will only cost you about ¼ a cent per hour to use it compared to the $0.11 to $0.17 for a microwave per hour.

If you must use your oven make sure to keep the door closed while you are cooking since opening the door drops the ovens temperature by 25 degrees or more. The oven will again use more power to heat back to the desired temperature.

photo credit

Step 4: Pay for what you use

When you have an appliance or even a cell phone charged plugged into a power outlet there is power going to that appliance even if you are not using it. The power that is being pushed through the outlet is costing you money and you're not even benefiting from it. Make sure you unplug everything you are not using and you can expect to see a difference of about 30 to 40 percent on your average electrical bill. Having an extra freezer plugged in and cold can cost you about $130 per year. If you are not really using that freezer you could combine all your frozen items in one smaller freezer and pocket the extra money instead of paying it to the utility company.

Step 5: Less water for each flush

If you haven't already upgraded your toilet to a low flow toilet that uses less water per flush you can simply place a small plastic bottle filled with water in the toilet. The bottle will help save you nearly a half gallon of water each time you flush your toilet and you'll never notice a difference in the performance with a small bottle.

Step 6: Stop paying to heat the outside

Besides keeping doors and windows shut which is obvious you should also look into replacing window caulking and insulation that is no longer serving its purpose. Replacing window caulking and insulation is believed to save around $80 or more each year in utility bills.

Step 7: Stop adjusting the temperature

Investing in a programmable thermostat can greatly help lower your utility bills since the temperature can attempt to stay at a constant level. You can also program these thermostats to lower the temperature during the parts of the day no one is usually home and raise the temperature to a comfortable level prior to anyone returning.

Posted Using LeoFinance ^Beta