10 Ways to Save Money and Energy At Home

Saving energy at home doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. While larger home upgrades like energy-efficient appliances or renewable energy investments like solar panels are excellent ways to reduce your carbon footprint, there are also easy, low-cost alternatives. Here are 10 tips from Choose Energy’s experts to help you reduce your energy usage and your monthly utility bill.

Heating and cooling account for the highest residential electricity consumption, so regulating your thermostat is a great way to save money and energy. Regular thermostats are great for setting schedules and manually controlling your home’s temperature. Smart thermostats, however, go one step further in helping regulate your home’s temperature for efficiency. This device takes the guesswork out of monitoring your HVAC system and automatically adjusts the temperature throughout the day.

Switching to LED lightbulbs is an easy and cheap way to save energy in your home. The Department of Energy (DOE) reports that LED light bulbs use 75% less electricity than incandescent bulbs and last 25 times longer.

Ceiling fans can help offset your HVAC usage by increasing airflow in your home. While fans don’t create cool air themselves, the movement of air can have a cooling effect. As summer approaches, turn on your ceiling fans to stay comfortable while decreasing your reliance on AC.

Consider putting your nighttime outdoor lights on a sensor. This adjustment decreases your electricity usage because instead of keeping the lights on all night, they activate when there’s movement. If you want outdoor lights for safety reasons, motion sensors are a great alternative to save energy while still feeling protected at night.

Heating water in your home requires electricity. Consider lowering your water heater and even washing your clothes in cold water. These are simple and free ways to reduce your electricity costs.

Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket to increase its efficiency. Insulation blankets reduce heat loss from your water heater, which is especially useful if you have an older model.

Do you have to run your dryer twice to dry one load of laundry? If you do, your dryer vent may be clogged. When this happens, it takes longer to dry your clothes because less air can move through the dryer. Clean your dryer vent after each load to increase its efficiency and reduce any fire risk.

This tip is great for both summer and winter, when you run your HVAC to stay comfortable. If the sealing is old or faulty, air can leak through your doors and windows. You can easily weatherstrip any leaks in your doors and windows to prevent air loss. This increases your home’s efficiency because it maximizes the value you get out of your HVAC system when it’s running.

Debris can build up in your HVAC filter and reduce its effectiveness. By regularly checking and replacing these filters, you can ensure your system works properly without costing you more money than necessary. How often your filters need changing depends on the type and brand. Check your HVAC filter instructions for details on when to change them and schedule regular maintenance checks.

This tip works for both laundry machines and dishwashers. Run these large appliances once they are full to maximize their energy consumption, instead of running them whenever there’s something dirty in them. If you have a time-of-use electricity plan, run your large appliances at night to save during off-peak hours.

Yes, home energy-saving tactics can actually make a dent in your energy bill. Your utility bill is calculated based on how many kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity you used that billing cycle. Every device and electronic in your home contributes to the total amount of kWh on your bill. By saving energy, you chip away at the number of kWhs consumed and bring down your total energy bill.

If these energy savings tips aren’t decreasing your bill enough, it might be time for a new plan. Explore plans on our marketplace to learn if you can get a cheaper rate in your area by entering your ZIP code on this page today.