How Much Are You Wasting on Energy?

When thinking about household bills, you may take into account your water, electricity, mortgage, cable, and food bills. Generally speaking your water, mortgage, and cable bills are set. This leaves electricity and food, and there are TONS of articles dedicated to lowering your food bill.

So you guessed it! We're going to have a talk about just how much money you're wasting on energy! There are probably a few things you didn't know, as well as maybe some old ideas that need to be brought back to light. Everything covered will allow you to save on energy costs which may let you splurge on something the whole family will enjoy!


Continue reading to see where you can save:

First, we're going to start with a few older tips that maybe our moms taught us a long time ago. Of course, you want to turn the lights out when you leave the room, but turning EVERYTHING off isn't really ideal or possible. Unplug things that aren't in use; that can include lamps, televisions, game consoles, and even blow dryers. This is important because even though they're not on, they still use energy. If you've got to keep your lights on for extended periods of time, upgrade your bulbs and be sure that you're using energy efficient ones.

A ton of people can remember their mother's telling them, "close the door, you don't live in a barn!" While this is true for most people in tropical climates, if you have nice weather, you SHOULD open the doors and windows. If you live in an area that is too hot to let nature do the work for you, bump up the temperature a few degrees and let ceiling fans do the extra work. Also, keep in mind that your thermostat will read based on what's near it. So if you have a lamp that puts off heat, the air conditioner will be running more often with less reason.

Oftentimes we keep our air conditioners on for extended periods of time, even while we're not there. It's understandable that you don't want to come home from a long day to a warm house. You can keep the settings at a temperature slightly warmer than you'd be comfortable in and turn it down when you get back. This way it's not running incessantly yet it doesn't take an hour to cool off.

If you can't tell, these are relatively small things to do that will help you save a bit on your energy bill. To put this in perspective, in certain areas, running a central air conditioning unit costs $120 or more a month. If this seems on the low side, keep in mind, this number is for areas with nicer weather where they don't see extremely high temperatures or high humidity.

The laundry room is another energy sucker. The dreaded dryer buzz can be eliminated with a simple fix: a clothesline. It sounds old school, and it is. It prevents you from wasting on energy and gives your clothes the fresh air smell.

Other things to think about are making sure the dishwasher is full when you run it, not overloading your refrigerator, and waiting for a full load of clothes instead of washing only one or two items. If you tend to fall asleep while watching TV or with the lights on, timers can be set so they automatically turn off at a certain time. An added benefit to this tip is more peaceful sleep!

This all seems like an awful lot of work. The good news is, most updated homes and apartments come with energy-efficient products. This does not mean to leave them on all the time, please don't--it's still not great for the environment. But it does make for a naturally lower energy bill. If you decide to follow these few tips you may see that you waste less on energy in the long-run.