Electricity has become another basic necessity of life because most of the devices that make life easier are powered by electricity. Unfortunately, many people struggle to meet up with their monthly energy bills and the climbing cost of energy isn’t helping Americans. According to STAISTA “Annual year-on-year growth in residential electricity prices in the United States from 2000 to 2020, with a forecast until 2022.” It is projected that the residential electricity price in the United States will increase by 1.3 percent between 2021 and 2022.
Hence, a lot of people are looking for ways to reduce their energy bills. Here are some simple tips, given by some Fort Worth electricians.
1. Ensure all your electrical appliances are in topmost condition
When any electrical appliance is not in perfect condition, it will consume more power to give less output. This is easily noticeable in an air conditioner and HVAC system. When an air conditioner is no longer performing optimally, you’ll observe that the area it is being used in will no longer as cool as it used to be.
During this period, it will consume more energy than it usually does. In other words, when some appliances are no longer in good condition, they will consume more power to give less output. This is why it is necessary to routinely check your electrical appliances as often as you should. And when any of them is faulty, let a professional Electrical Panel Upgrades in Dallas . We cover the Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas for all of your electrical needs.
2. Always turn off appliances that are not in use
Make it a habit to leave only the units in use on. Shut down the others. You should always check around your house or apartment for idle appliances that are on. Do this several times a day. Turn off any appliance that is not in use.
3. Use an energy-efficient lighting system
There are bulbs that conserve energy. You may want to change your lighting to these energy saver bulbs. You could consult an electrician to guide you on this.
4. Leverage sunlight
When the sun is shining brightly during the day, you could turn off all your bulbs and open your curtains for natural illumination. With this idea, you won’t need to use your lights for 24 hours anymore. Although this method will not save a large amount of power, the little difference will add up and save you a large amount of money over the years.
5. Take shorter hot showers
Nothing consumes power like an appliance that generates heat. So, your hot shower isn’t cheap. You can decide to take hot showers only when it is necessary. In the alternative, you can cut the duration of your hot showers. Here is why. If two people in your household can cut their hot shower time by only 2 minutes each, it will save about $60 in a whole year. Does it make sense now?
6. Unplug idle appliances
According to some licensed electricians in Fort Worth, plugged electronics consume power even when they are not being used. It is called standby power. Hence, don’t just switch off electronics. Also, turn off the outlets/sockets and unplug them until when you want to use them.
A good example is your computer. Once people shut down their system, they do not unplug. In fact, some people don’t even shut down. They just hibernate their PCs. All these will continue to consume energy. Once you’re through with your computer, shut it down and unplug it.
7. Ditch your desktop for a laptop
Once a laptop is fully charged, you can unplug it and still continue to use it, but a desktop computer consumes power all through its usage. Even when a laptop is being charged, it does not consume as much power as a desktop computer. Therefore, it makes economic sense to replace your desktop with a laptop. And if you have both, great! Use your laptop more.
8. Replace old/archaic appliances
There’s one feature common with modern electrical appliances. It is low energy consumption. Brands continuously produce units that will consume less power and give out more output. This is applicable to TV sets, refrigerators, air conditioners, and more.
Newer models usually conserve power more than older models. So, you should be planning to change any appliance that is older than 5 years in your home.
9. Alternate the use of your air conditioners with fans
For this method to work, you need to insulate your home to prevent cool air from escaping. We all know that fans consume much less energy than air conditioners. In fact, a single unit AC is likely to consume more power than all the fans in your home.
So, instead of running your air conditioner for six straight hours, it might be a good idea to run it for only the first two hours. After that, you can switch it off and switch on your fan for the next two hours. You can switch the AC back on after another two hours.
10. Use the oven only when it is necessary
By virtue of our experience, we can tell you that each time you cook or bake in your oven, the temperature in your apartment will increase by 10%. And when the temperature increases, your cooling unit will go into overdrive. It will have to work more intensely to keep the room temperature down to its original level.
In doing this, your cooling unit will consume more power. Although the increase in energy consumption may be infinitesimal, it can accumulate quickly into a tangible amount in the monthly energy bills. So, we will advise you to reduce your usage of the oven. Instead of using it indoors, you may grill or bake in your backyard. You can cut down your oven usage and see how your monthly energy bill drop.
11. Wash with cooler water for your laundry
In case you don’t know, the washing machine uses 80% of the energy it consumes to heat water. So, it is logical that if you wash with cooler water, the energy consumed by your washing machine will drop tremendously, and your monthly energy bill will follow.
Conclusively, you can take the time to apply all the 11 tips given above and see how much you’ll cut off from your monthly utility bill. Try the tips now and thank us later.
