For most homeowners, the electricity bill is the second-largest expense after the mortgage. That is the reason why many people nowadays are trying to find new ways to go green and reduce their electrical bills. Changing your habits and investing in energy-saving devices is not always easy. However, there are a couple of small steps you can take and still be able to see the difference at the end of the month.

• Seal leaky parts of the home

During the colder seasons of the year, retaining heat should be one of your priorities. Heat isn’t cheap and most of your electricity or gas bill is likely going to be made up of heating. This means that keeping it in the house and spending less is your primary goal.

It’s time to seal up parts of your home so that heat stops leaking out. The most vulnerable areas are your house’s windows and doors. They have the least insulation and their edges constantly leak heat. Use caulk and weatherstrip the edges of these areas and you’ll save quite a bit of money on the electricity bill.

• Do your laundry at night

Many power companies offer non-peak discounts. That usually means that electricity is cheaper during night-time. There’s nothing stopping you from simply using the washer at night instead of the day. If you create a new laundry schedule, you’ll be able to save a lot of money in both the short and the long run. The same method applies to the dishwasher. Turn on the dishwasher before you go to bed and save even more on electricity. you’ll have all the cutlery and dishes you need in the morning, just in time for breakfast to begin.

• Calibrate the water heater

Most people set their thermostat to a very hot one hundred and forty degrees. This is the standard temperature that provides you with hot water for most of the day. It’s an unnecessarily high temperature, though. It takes a lot of power to keep it at that temperature. You won’t be using that much hot water anyway, so why not lower it? 

Change it to around a hundred and twenty degrees and you’ll find that it’s going to be a lot more worthwhile, at least in terms of power savings. When you’re travelling out of town or staying at a friend’s, why bother keeping it on anyway? Turn the power switch off and you don’t even have to think about whether it’s using power. You’re going to use a lot less energy and it’s going to heat back up in no time when you return.

• Create a protective bubble

Keep your drapes closed during summer before you leave the house to protect it from the sun. Once you get back, there will be no need for the air conditioner to stay on for a long time. Closing blinds during winter will prevent the room from cooling too fast. 

Combined with the cooking method, you’ll barely even have to turn up the thermostat if it’s not too cold outside. If that’s not an option, insulate your windows. 

• Cut on phantom energy

Some appliances use electricity even though they’re not in use. Some devices with stand-by functions use up to twenty per cent of their energy consumption even when no one is using them. 

Make sure to unplug those devices or use the switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance. You’ll be surprised to see how much money you can save with this simple method. Investing in energy-saving devices is a good solution, too. 

• Program your thermostat

There’s no use in warming a home when nobody’s in it. You’re basically wasting heat and doing nothing. Similarly, cooling your home while it’s empty is just as pointless. However, this is something people often do when leaving their home for school or work, simply because they don’t want to come back to an uncomfortable environment one they’re done with the day.

This is perfectly reasonable, as you don’t need to wait in the freezing cold after you’ve exhausted yourself during the day. However, there’s a much better solution available than simply wasting energy. You can always program your thermostat in such a way that it keeps your house cold or warm when you get there, depending on the season. 

If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, now’s the perfect time to get one. You can save a ton of power and make your home a lot more comfortable than it can normally get. Plus, it can be great for night’s and mornings, when you need great timing to keep your house comfortable enough to get up for work in the morning.

• Fix old devices instead of purchasing new ones

If something in your house stops working, it doesn’t mean that you should immediately rush to the store to replace it with a new product. Call a reliable air condition repair service if your air conditioner stops working, or you can even request to adjust some settings or clean the air conditioner. 

• Clean and upgraded appliances work better, they’re more eco-friendly, and they reduce your electrical bills. Upgrading other appliances will pay off, too. Change the heaters in your oven and upgrade other devices and appliances if possible.    
• Consider a crockpot

Cooking is one of the more electrically demanding processes in your home. When the oven and stove are working in unison, you use a lot of electricity and heat up parts of your home. This can increase your AC usage and, in turn, also up your electrical bills. While you can’t really stop eating food, you can always switch up your cooking method and add something a bit more efficient. 

Crockpots are great options for everyday cooking. They can be used to make just about any food, and they’ll do so efficiently. Less electricity is used, and you can time your cooker to deliver a perfect meal right as you arrive from school or work. That’s a lot of conveniences that will go well with your lower electricity bill.

• Use dimmer switches

Installing dimmers in your house is beneficial for many reasons. Not only will you be able to control the light source and create a cozy atmosphere, but you’ll also reduce the electrical bill. 

Even if you dim the lights by twenty per cent, you’ll be able to see a significant amount of savings on your next electrical bill. 

Plus, dimmers give you the ability to set the mood for any room. If you’re writing or doing work, you want the lights to be up all the way. On the other hand, when you’re trying to relax and enjoy a nice evening with your partner or friends, you’ll want a more relaxing atmosphere. Turning off all the lights would not help with visibility, but dimming them would be just fine. It would give you the best of both worlds and create an enjoyable visual experience.

• Conclusion

There are many more ways to reduce electrical bills. However, know that no matter what you do, you’ll still have to pay some amount of money at the end of the month. Try to be reasonable, but do whatever is in your power to benefit from it. Start with the basics, and later you can invest in more advanced solutions. Once you start creating changes, you’ll be able to think of solutions that work even better for you. Approach the situation from different angles, and once you learn what method works the best for you, you’ll enjoy the results.