Reduce Your Power Usage
Is Your Electricity Bill High?
In this day and age, money is on all our minds - we are always trying to find ways to save, save, save. One of the most overlooked bills is the power bill. Well, why not start there?
Power bills can cost us on average $200.00 per month. Did you know that on average, half our power bills are from purely wasted power? There are so many different ways that we as individuals waste power and we didn't even know it. This is not done on purpose, we all just need to be a little more 'power' educated.
By learning a few simple tools, we can all save out our power bills, which in the end, allows us to have more money in our pockets to spend on other things we may enjoy.
Best Ways To Reduce Your Electricity Bill
Turn Off The Lights!
There are so many different ways that we can reduce our power bills and most common of them all is simply, turning off the lights. The best way to determine if your lights are a culprit - just look around you.
Sit in your living room each day for one week. Look around - are there lights on in rooms you aren't in? Is the kitchen light on? What about the bedroom lights? Are the kids in the basement? If not, why did they leave the light on?
These questions alone can save you 20% in your power costs over a year. If you like to have a lot of lights on in the house, purchase efficient light bulbs for the most used lights. Sure they cost a few dollars each, but in the long run the will save you a pretty penny. They last longer than the old fashioned bulbs we are used to (up to 10 times) and instead of using 100 watts per hour for each bulb, you will only be using 23 watts with Compact Fluorescent Bulbs. There are also even lower watt options when using LED lighting in your home.
LED(Light Emitting Diode) lighting is the most efficient lighting, but at this time, a very expensive option. An led bulb equaling 50 watt incandescent bulbs price range, $25.00 - $35.00 per bulb, but do last up to 25 years! These are slowly coming down in price as the market for the bulbs are slowly increasing. I would consider buying one for the most used light in the home.
Heating The Home
The Furnace - this is one of the most misinformed appliance in your home. Most people have a gas furnace. In the winter our gas costs on average increase by 50%. What most people don't realize, the cost of the power bill will increase in the winter on average of 30% and this is also because of the furnace.
When running as gas furnace, most people conclude that it is run by gas and gas only. The other most important part of the furnace - the fan that blows the heat through the home. This fan is run on electricity.
In the winter months, it is cold. We love the fact that we can turn up the furnace and live in comfort and in warmth. But when you leave the house, do you turn down the furnace? Most families are away from their homes on average of 8 hours a day. In those 8 hours, why are the dust particles enjoying all your expensive heat?
When you leave the house for longer than one hour, turn down your heat. This will save you on average 30% of your winter heating costs. Another great option is to purchase a programmable thermostat. There are many different ones on the market for every price range. I recommend purchasing one with a day to day option. This is very helpful to be able to program each day as each day can be different. Especially on the weekends.
One thing you should always remember - change the air filter regularly(every month) and to also ensure you get the furnace and ducts cleaned once per year. This will make your furnace work at its full capacity each time it turns on. Keeping your furnace clean, ensures that you will get the full amount of heat the furnace has to offer, which in turn means, turning on less each day.
Buy A Down Blanket
Another recommendation, purchase a down blanket and turn down the heat in your house when you are sleeping. Down blankets are great for keeping heat in and in the Summer, is great for keeping the heat out.
There are so many cost options when purchasing a down blanket. Lower cost down blankets, use feathers and not actual down. When using down, you have the softest feather available. When using regular feathers, you will often feel the quill of the feather sticking out from the blanket. The down is the feathers of the bird that are softer and underneath the more stronger and tougher outer feather of the bird.
When searching for a good quality down blanket, first thing you should do it squeeze the blanket between your arms. If it feels like it is a little 'crunchy' and a little hard, this will most likely be a blanket that over time will have you pulling out the feathers by the quills to stop them from poking you.
Most down blankets only come in white. But you can buy a colorful duvet cover to match the decor of any room.
How You Can Reduce your Electricity Bills?
Honestly, the only way your power bill can be reduced, is by you reducing your power consumption. I know that just sounds like an easy way to answer the question - but it is the truth. As I had mentioned earlier - look around and look very closely.
There are so many things in our homes that are plugged in, just to sit there and do nothing, until we go and turn it on. Why are we leaving them plugged in? It is because of convenience. I am just as guilty. There is no reason for a laptop to stay plugged in if it is turned off (not safe mode). Why continue charging something that is already charged?
Power bills will not go away, they will only get more expensive as the cost to make the power just keeps increasing. Lets start taking a stand and change it for ourselves and for our wallets. At the same time, producing less power, produces less Greenhouse gases, which in turn, helps or planet.
Other great information on reducing your power bills can be found here.
