subject: Lowering Your Energy Bill [print this page] Cold temperatures can add up to high energy bills which equals even colder temperaments than the temperatures outside. There are many simple steps that you can take to help lower your energy bill for this next year.
Changing Dishwasher from Hot-Dry to Dry
By default, many dishwashers use a hot-dry setting in which the cleaned dishes are blasted with hot air. This setting uses a lot of energy in order to dry the dishes quickly. By switching the dry setting to normal or air dry (check manufacturers owners manual to find out how) the dishwasher will use much less energy and will save you money. It may take longer to dry than before, but the money saved is well worth it.
Keeping Air Conditioner at a Constant Temp
As the seasons change it can be tempting to crank up the heater when you walk in after a cold day, or to blast the air conditioning after you walk in from a hot summer day. This can provide immediate relief and gratification, but this can be short lived when you get your electric bill. An air conditioner that is constantly varying between temperatures uses a lot of power, much more than one trying to maintain a steady temperature. Think about a hot air balloon. It takes a lot of heat and energy to get going, but once it is up in the air you only need little bursts of heat to keep it flying.
Vampire Power
Turning all of your electronics off when you are done using them is a great start, but appliances that are still plugged in still use power. Like a car battery that will go dead if you leave a light on, electronics suck up power even if you turn them off. To help this, try utilizing power strips to plug electronics into. When you are done for the day simple flip the switch to cut off power to the electronics.
Earth Hour
Everyone hears about Earth Day and how we are supposed be earthy and try not to use power. This is great and all but would it not be more efficient to have an earth hour every day? Make it a family habit to turn off everything for an hour and go do something outside. Turn off the gaming stations, televisions, radios, computers, and just go do something fun.
Alternative Sources
Turning to alternative sources of energy could drastically decrease your energy bill. Solar panels are becoming cheaper by the day, and many areas are tapping into wind energy as well. If you are lucky enough to live by a creek you could install a water poweredgenerator. Even having a gas, diesel, or natural gas generator can help save on electric costs depending on the price of fuel.
There are many more ways to start cutting down your electric bill. Saving electricity not only helps to save you money, but also helps cut down your carbon footprint and is beneficial to the earth overall.
