One Hundred Dollars a Month

I’ve written a few posts on how to save money on your heating bills, but when I saw this question pop up in my inbox, I figured it was time to revisit it!

Hello Mavis,

Have you written a post on how to reduce your electric bill? I cannot believe how low your bill is! I live in the Boston area and live in a two-family, new construction, with every energy-saving feature except for solar panels. Our electric bill is nearly $300 a month! We do laundry once a week and hang our clothes on racks to dry. Sheets, towels and undies go in the dryer. We have gas appliances and keep the house at 75 degrees in the Summer. We use lights sparingly and have only two TVs. I am a fanatic about unplugging things. Thanks for any insight.

~ MEM

One of the most extensive posts I’ve written about the subject was geared more towards the winter months and included the following tips:

1. Drop the thermostat at night and throw an extra blanket on the bed.  Colder temperatures activate our brown fat anyway…you’re practically doing your body a favor {not to mention your pocketbook}.
2. Wash clothes in cold.  Heating water is EXPENSIVE, and most clothes do not need to be sanitized.  Your clothes will last longer anyway.
3. Make sure doors are sealed, check the space under doors leading to the outside, and caulk around outside windows.  There is no reason to pay for heat that you are literally throwing out the window.
4. After you bake dinner, leave the oven cracked.  You paid for that 350 degrees, you might as well let it spill out and warm up the kitchen.
5. In the late afternoon/early evening, begin dropping the heat.  Use a space heater for the area the family will spend the evening.
6. Make sure to switch the direction your ceiling fans turn and turn them on.  A clockwise turn will push warm air back into circulation.
7. Change your furnace filter regularly.  Making sure your furnace is running at maximum efficiency is just a no-brainer.
8. Turn all lights off when you’re not in the room.
9. Make do with daylight during the day and don’t even turn lights on.
   
10. Stick to 5 minute showers.  I know it feels awesome to stand under the hot water on a cold day, but again, heating water is expensive.  As the cherry on top, you’ll also save money on water.
11. If you have an attic door in your house, staple some insulation to the inside of the door.  A lot of heat is lost to that opening–and unless you are looking to heat the rafters, it’s kind of a waste.
12. Turn down the water heater temperature.  Instead of constantly having 140 degree water at your fingertips–try turning it down to 120 degrees.
13. Invest in a programmable thermostat.  You really only need to heat the house to comfort when you are home.  If you leave during the day, you might as well drop that sucker way down, and in the interest of comfort, you can program it to begin getting warm again about an hour before you get home.  That way, it’s pretty painless.

But that list leaves out all the tips on reducing that bill in the heat of the summer. Here’s how I’ve kept that bill low all year. A lot of these tips really come down to thinking back to what our grandparents did before central air was readily available. They used what they had and managed just fine. Here are some tips so you, too, can slash that power bill:

1. Open windows early in the morning when the air is still crisp to cool the house down. Close them up when the temperature turns warm. THIS IS MY VERY BEST BIT OF ADVICE!
2. If the temp outside is 75 degrees or less, try using window fan ventilation. Place fans on the downwind side of the house facing out. Open a window in each room and open all interior doors  to allow air flow.
3. Provide effective shade for east and west windows. Thick curtains will work wonders here.
4. Install white blinds. Wooden or colored blinds might be more aesthetically pleasing, but white gets the job done by blocking out those sun’s rays the best!
5. Plant plenty of shade trees around the house that block your house from hot afternoon sun.
6. Don’t use the oven during the heat of the day, and not at all if possible.
7. Same goes for running the dishwasher or drying clothes. Not at all during the hottest part of the day, and sparingly if possible.
8. Don’t use your AC and a dehumidifier at the same time. Your dehumidifier increases the cooling load and overworks the AC unit.
9. Make sure doors and windows stay tightly shut during the day. If you need ventilation, run a fan.
10. Make sure your AC unit is properly sized for your space. You might be overworking or under working it and causing it to be much less efficient and effective than it could be. While it might cost you a pretty penny upfront for a new unit, the long-term savings might be well worth it.
11. Raise your thermostat setting and invest in ceiling fans to offset that.
12. Don’t turn AC on in unused rooms. Block vents in those rooms.
13. Turn AC off when you go on vacation or leave for more than an hour. Turn it down while you’re at work.
14. Clean your AC’s air filter every month during peak cooling season.

And there you have 27 awesome tips to follow to reduce your power or gas will in the winter and the summer months! Did I miss any great tips?

~Mavis