This Hub give suggestions to help reduce electricity bill.

We know that there is already information available on what you can do to reduce your electricity bill. In our opinion, some of the advice would save you only pennies, so we have tried to concentrate on the bigger changes.

We also try to focus on changes that you can make that do not cost money.

This is very much our personal view; we are not experts, but we are both experienced in running a household while juggling other interests.

Are you tired of being told about the savings that you will make by changing to energy efficient light bulbs? We think it is a bit boring, and anyway, in the UK there is little choice, as the old style light bulb is being phased out.

For most households, the most expensive appliance in terms of electricity is the fridge. It is very difficult to manage without one now that most of us only shop once a week.

However, there are some households with 2 fridges, with the second one often known as 'the beer fridge'. (Pat has one in her garage.) This may be considered a necessity in the summer, but perhaps in the winter months it could be unplugged, cleaned out and left with the door propped open.

In fact, in winter time here in southern England, the inside of many garages is about the right temperature for chilled beer, so this does not mean turning off the beer supply.

Obviously, you should not stand in front of the fridge with the door open gazing at the contents. The amount of breath we have expended over the years telling our children not to do that would probably power a wind farm. There was no appreciable modification of their behaviour, but they did eventually leave home (mostly).

The amount spent on running a freezer can vary hugely. In the first place, some freezers are more fuel efficient. However, we are not suggesting that you rush out and buy a new one unless the one you have now really is worn out.

One simple step you can take is to ensure that the door seal fits properly. (This goes for your fridge as well). A new door seal is not expensive - but can be a bit of a pain to fit.

Some fridges and freezers are self- defrosting, but if your's is not 'frost-free', try to defrost it whenever necessary. We know its not a fun task, but it does reduce electricity consumption. In addition, you may find things lurking at the back of the freezer that should be used up, or possibly even thrown out.

The other power-hungry appliance is the tumble drier.

You really will reduce your bills by keeping use of the drier to a minimum. You can dry your clothes outside for most of the year. We know - we live in England where it rains a lot.

If the weather really is wet, many items can be dried on a clothes rack, but remember to keep your house ventilated or you may get mold growing on the walls.

We both tumble dry bath towels because no matter what we do they come in from the clothes line as still as cardboard and about as scratchy as a scouring pad.

If you have an electric cooker, or a cooker with gas hob and electric oven, you may be surprised by the amount of fuel consumed by your oven.  Pat has tried some to monitor electicity use, and know that her electric fan oven is power -hungry!

You may have a cooker with 2 ovens.  When planning how you will cook a meal, consider whether you could just use the smaller oven.  If you do want to cook something in the larger oven, try to plan your meal so that you can cook other items in the oven at the same time.

If you are making a casserole, think about cooking double what you need for one meal.  You can freeze half and simply heat it up on another occasion.

 You will probably have seen all those warnings that when you leave your television on stand-by you are using loads of electricity.

We do think that if everybody in the country turned off their appliances rather than leaving them on stand-by that this would be a significant reduction in energy consumption.

We also think that you would not see a significant reduction in your personal fuel bill.

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't turn it off!  We do believe in that saying 'act local - think global', and that life should not be all about personal gain.

The same goes for only boiling the water you need, turning off your microwave, and following every piece of good advice on slowing climate change.

 Don't.

Or at least try to keep it to a minimum.  If you hang up clothes very carefully, many items need no ironing.

This won't save much electricity, but it will give you more time to do things that you might enjoy.

Of course, we have heard that there are some people who actually enjoy ironing.

 If you are serious about wanting to save money on electricity you will need to move on from our guesswork about your consumption.

You will need to monitor your own use.

Reading your quarterly or monthly bills will not give you enough information.  You should take weekly readings from your electricity meter (or meters - some of you have more than one).

Try to take your meter readings at roughly the same time each week.  Forgive us if this sounds obvious, but try to pick a time that you will remember, and when you are not likely to be too busy.  Just before you leave home on Monday morning is unlikely to be a good time.

Record the units consumed for a few weeks.  If the amount is consistent, try taking steps that might reduce overall comsumption, such as drying clothes on the line instead of using the drier.

Perhaps your usage fluctuates.  Try to remember what you have done differently in the weeks when comsumption was higher, as this could give you a clue as to how to cut your bills.

When you have a clear picture of how many units you are using, you should be able to find out if you are on the most beneficial tariff.

 Your electricity supplier probably offers a choice of tarrifs.  These are similar to the different packages offered by phone companies, but for some reason they don't get as much publicity.

Your supplier will have a web site, and somewhere on that site you should be able to find the tarrif options.  The web address will be on your paper bill, possibly in very small print.

You will need to study the different options, together with the information that you have gathered on your usage patterns, to decide which tarrif will be right for your circumstances.

This can be challenging and time consuming, but it really can save money.

 Most electricity and gas companies offer an annual price reduction it you choose to pay by monthly direct debit.

You will need to agree with your supplier a monthly sum, which should be based on your usage patterns and the project price of power.

Be warned though that power companies like to build up a credit on your account.  They are holding your money and you are not getting any interest.  So interest rates are pathetically low at present, but that won't always be the case (we hope).  Do not be pressurised into paying more than you think reasonable.

If you do find you have built up a big credit balance, agree with your supplier to reduce your monthly payments.

We are aware that some consider this discount to be a sort of reverse tax on people who have not got bank accounts.  Please note that we are not trying to write a discussion on ethics here, but suggesting how you can save money.

There are a number of comparison web sites where you can enter details of your power consumption and find out which electricity company offers a package and price that best meets your needs.

You may find that it is possible to save a significant sum by changing to another company.

Pat did change electricity companies - for the full story see Changing Electricity