Many of us have probably dread the electricity bill’s arrival and with good reason. Like many other commodities, residential electricity prices seem to rise and fall from moment to moment creating confusion, and oftentimes unnecessarily high monthly bills.
To help understand residential energy usage and save on your bills, we’ve collected some data on where most household energy goes along with some helpful tips to reduce your energy consumption.
When you are looking at your bill and wondering where all this energy is being used, here are some things you should know. There are two significant home energy culprits, which account for roughly 75% of your home’s energy consumption*.
There are some aspects of your residential electricity usage you can’t always control. You need hot water, heating, air conditioning, and a running refrigerator. However, there are still a lot of areas where you can prevent energy waste. Here are some tips to help you become more energy efficient.
The easiest way to cut down on space heating energy consumption is to lower the thermostat in colder weather, and raise the thermostat in the summer. A good rule of thumb: one degree of adjustment translates into means 1% in monthly savings.
To combat appliances, electronics and lighting, follow these simple tips to cut down energy costs.
The simplest way starts in the store. When shopping for appliances, look for the EnergyStar label. That label means that the appliance has been government-certified to meet stringent energy saving requirements and can mean deliver long-term savings.
Even when turned off, your electronics still use electricity. Computers, gaming platforms, and stereo components are some of the biggest energy hogs. In order to stop this energy leakage, plug all of your electronics into a power strip that has a surge protector and an off switch. Then, when you go to bed, turn off the power strip.
At the very least, when you are finished on your Xbox or other game console, unplug it from the large power supply box. These electronics draw a surprisingly large amount of energy.
Finally, when you go on vacation, or know you are going to be out of your house for a few days, unplug everything but what is essential while you’re gone. This way clocks and other small devices aren’t running while you are out.
Try to make a habit of checking your home a few times a day to make sure there aren’t any unused lights on. You should also think about switching from incandescent to more energy-efficient halogen and fluorescent bulbs, which offer the same amount of light for much less energy.
You can also find a lot of helpful tips and information about reducing energy consumption by visiting the Choose Energy Data Center.
Reliant Energy is a Houston-based retail energy provider (REP) that has powered millions of homes and businesses across the Lone Star State. This provider is
TXU Energy is a Texas retail energy provider (REP) that has operated across the Lone Star State since 1984. Not only is TXU Energy one
