Reduce Your Electric Bill By Consuming Less

If you are like most people in this economy you are looking for ways to save money and reduce the outgoing dollars each month. When looking at the monthly bills the one that always seems to stick out the most (at least in my household) is the electric bill. Believe it or not there are several simple steps available to reduce your electric bill.

First, it's important to find out how much you are being charged by your electric company per KWh (KiloWatt Hour) and how much your normal monthly usage is/has been. With this information you are better able to measure the results of your steps toward reduction of electricity use.

The biggest drain on your energy budget is of course your heating and air conditioning unit. So, how can we reduce our usage of that? Some people will tell you to just drop the temperature a few degrees and wear winter coats in your house. While this technique Will work, I've always thought that our home should be a comfortable place, so I've discounted this option and we keep our house as warm in summer and as cool in winter as we desire to have it a comfortable living level. So what choices does this leave us with?

If your whole family is out during the day (for school or work) then a programmable thermostat is a great option. By reducing the temperature level during the hours of the day that no one is home you can keep your heater running at a minimum when no one is there to enjoy the heat anyway, and then have it come back up to temp an hour or so before anyone gets home. This not only will reduce the amount of energy consumed during the day, but also extend the life of your heating unit (as it doesn't have to work as hard). This is also a great idea for at night, when most people sleep better in slightly cooler temps anyway.

Secondly, if you have the money, time, and wherewithal it's worth looking into some of the plans available for alternate energy sources. Some great plans/guides are available. Or, if you don't have the above finances, or risk level to try an alternate energy source, you can try an alternate (and well proven) heat source. My personal favorite and the choice in our house is an infrared heater. An infrared heater will use significantly less energy than your central heating unit and offers a comfortable source of heat. Also, an infrared heater is safe around kids and pets as it works through light waves and doesn't get as dangerously hot as a wood-stove or radiator. This is alone is a good reason to give up the wood burning and move to an infrared heater or two in your house. There are other heater alternatives out there, but most require small spaces, with extra rooms shut off, or become very hot and dangerous, and may even be a fire risk.

So, that's the scoop on reducing your energy consumption when it comes to heating. I am out of time for now, but we will revisit energy consumption and other areas for saving in my next post.

Here's your bonus tip of the day: If you can teach your kids electricity doesn't come for free (or even cheap!) they will start to take some responsibility in helping you reduce your daily energy consumption.

See ya tomorrow.

Yes, there are multiple ways to go about reducing your energy bill. First and foremost be conscientious about the way you use energy, and see if there is something you're doing or leaving on that could be left undone or left off. j

In my house one of our biggest electricity wasters is the TV,DVD Player, and Wii system. Our kids (all under the age of 7) want to be "big kids" and run the electronics themselves. However the "big kid" responsibility seems to end there, and no one wants to be the last in the basement, (scared of the dark and the quiet it seems), SO...nothing gets turned off...and EVERY light has been turned on and left on. If you have an area like this in your house it's worth checking on frequently and turning items off, or even installing an inexpensive motion detector in that room, to turn off the lights and electronics after a certain period of time with no detected movement.