How to Reduce Your Utility Bills

As much as we try to cut down on unnecessary expenses, there are always some essential costs we simply cannot eliminate. These necessities often come in the form of utility bills -- most of us cannot function day-to-day without using water and energy. But when we assess our usage and adjust our habits, slight alterations can add up to big savings.

Some tips are common sense, every day choices that are easy to disregard because the savings are difficult to quantify: turn off lights when you leave the room; close the refrigerator door behind you; turn off the faucet while you brush your teeth. These seemingly insignificant decisions really do save energy and ultimately money.

For example, according to ConsumerReports.org, leaving the TV on for eight hours a day will cost about $44 a year. Running a computer and its monitor 24 hours a day, 365 days a year adds up to about $150. Using the sleep mode will save about three-quarters of that expense.

ConsumerReports.org recommends other household changes you can make that will help cut your utility costs. For instance, set your hot water heater to a lower temperature. The low setting, approximately 120 degrees, is hot enough for most household uses including your dishwasher. Wrap the hot water heater with an insulating blanket to limit wasted energy especially if it feels warm to the touch.

Switch to compact fluorescent bulbs in your home. They cost a little more (about $2) but use 25-30 watts to provide as much light as a 100-watt incandescent bulb and they give off much less heat. ConsumerReports.org calculated that, an incandescent bulb will cost $84 using electricity at the average rate of 8.4 cents a kilowatt hour plus about $5 for 10 replacements. By contrast, a compact fluorescent will cost only about $35 in total.

Other Energy-Saving Tips:

• Caulk windows and doors. This can help with insulating your home in the summer and the winter.
• Use more fans. Fans use less energy than air conditioning and can help keep the air moving, especially when strategically placed around the room and in windows. Ceiling fans and oscillating floor fans are particularly effective.
• Pull down the curtains and blinds. Thick, dark curtains that block the sunlight, especially the afternoon sun on the west side of your home, will significantly reduce the heat. Try it one day and touch the curtain to feel how much heat the material absorbs.
• Use cool colors - paint walls in greens and blues or use cool-colored curtains, pillows, rugs and comforters. You can feel a difference when you trick your mind into thinking it is cool.

Air conditioning is a much-appreciated luxury during hot summer days and yet you can still save energy by using it effectively. Clean your air conditioning filters every month. Disposable filters are cheap and easy to install. According to the Dollar Stretcher (Stretcher.com), normal household dust will reduce airflow by about one percent per week.

You can also save energy by reducing the amount of space the air conditioning is cooling. Shut off the vents in unused rooms or closets and attics. Secure the area around single window units with foam, tape and other insulation. Clear the area around the outside portion of the central air unit so plants and growth does not prevent airflow. Call your utility company to find out if they will inspect your system for free. Dollar Stretcher claims that for every degree you raise the air conditioning temperature you will save about four percent of your bill.

The kitchen may be the room in the home that uses the most resources. The appliances we use to cook, clean and store food regularly use both energy and water.

During the hot summer months the last thing we want to do is turn on the oven. Conventional ovens significantly heat up the kitchen and surrounding areas as the air conditioning works extra hard to keep you cool. Use a microwave, toaster, toaster oven or crock-pot when heating small portions because smaller appliances create less unnecessary heat. If you can, use an outside grill; it’s a great excuse to get outside and to keep the heat outside. If you must use the oven, consider preparing extra food that you can freeze and reheat in a microwave later.

Consider size when preparing meals. When using the stove, match the size of the pot or pan with the size of the burner to reduce excess heat that will escape into the room. Placing lids on pots will bring water to a boil much faster, saving you time and cutting down on in-kitchen heat.

You can also save energy and water by using your dishwasher effectively. Only run the dishwasher when it is completely full and limit the amount of water you use to pre-rinse your dishes. Many modern dishwashers will remove the food even if you don’t rinse at all. A dishwasher, especially when used effectively, saves more water than washing the dishes by hand.

Other Water-Saving Tips:

• Hang a clock in the bathroom, ideally visible from the shower, to help you take shorter showers.
• Put one or two bricks in the tank of each toilet. You will use about 10 percent less water per brick every time you flush.
• Learn about the plants in your garden and how often they need to be watered. Don’t water plants everyday if they only need it once a week.
• Use the appropriate water level in the washing machine. If you’re washing a medium-sized load don’t use the level for large, but try to wash full loads when you can to save on energy.

Learning to use electricity, gas and water effectively can save both valuable resources and the money you spend on them. You can control how much energy you use even if you can’t control the fact that you use it.