Saving Money - How to Save Money on Your Electric Bill

 Did you know you can cut your electric costs and add keep much needed money in your pocket?  By making easy adjustments to your home you can save up to $400 a year or more!!!  You can start most of these changes right now to take full advantage of the money you will save.

If you adjust your furnace and air conditioner you can save yourself $170 a year.

• Lower your thermostat by 5 degrees or more during winter, and even 5 degrees more at night
• Raise your air conditioner thermostat by 5 degrees of more in the summer, and even 5 degrees more during the night
• Also make sure the fan setting on your thermostat is set on the "Auto" position, if it is set on "on", or "run", it will seem as though it is running all the time.  By keeping it on "Auto" it will use less electricity.

 You can save money by using compact fluorescent bulbs instead of the incandescent light bulbs.  Compact fluorescent bulbs use much less energy and last alot longer.

• Replace the most-used 60-watt bulb in your home with a 15-watt CFL -- Each bulb you replace will save you up to $6 a year
• Replace the most-used 75-watt bulb in your home with a 20-watt CFL -- Each bulb you replace will save you up to $8 a year.
• Replace standard night lights with new LimeLite Night Lights and save yourself up to $12 a year
• By simply turning off a light when you leave the room can save you up to $5 a year
• Always use the lowest wattage bulb that gives you the light you need -- this will offer you even more savings

If you replace your exsisting showerhead with a High-efficiency showerhead you can save yourself up to $26 a year.  You will save $26 per showerhead replaced, per year, if you have more than one shower.

By replacing your kitchen faucets aerator with a high-efficiency aerator you can save up to $8 a year.  The same applies to the bathroom sink, by replacing the aerator in the bathroom you can save yourself $10 a year.

It is cheaper to wash laundry in cold water.  Cold water can clean your clothes just as well as hot water in most situations.  If you do a lot of laundry you can save up to $54 a year by using cold water.

If you hot water is hotter than 125 degrees Fahrenheit, you should turn down the temperature setting.  By lowering the temperature by 10 degrees you can save up to $20 per year.  You can give yourself additional savings by insulating your hot water heater and pipes, especially if it is over 5 years old.

Refrigerator temperatures need to be between 36^F and 38^F, it you can safely increase the temperature by 5 degrees you can save up to $13 a year.   The freezer needs to be within 0^F and 5^F, if you can adjust the temperature safely you can take advantage of additional savings.

By keeping refrigerators and freezers away from other heat producing appliances or direct sunlight they will not have to work as hard to keep the items inside cold.  The more efficient they run the more savings they will offer.

All appliances cost money to run, by unplugging any appliances that you do not use will help you to save up to $76 a year.

You computer is also costing you money by leaving it on all the time.  By simply turning off your computer and the monitor you can save up to $31 a year. If you want additional savings plug your computer into a power strip, by cutting all power will allow you to save more.  You can also plug your TV, DVD player, VCR, and other electronics into power strips to completely power them down at night also saving you more.