6 Tips to Reduce Your Electricity Bill

A few simple steps to save the money you spend on power
- Thomas Watson

LED bulbs consume 80% less electricity

 You can reduce your costs and your carbon footprint by adopting a few basic tips.

Use CFL or LED Light bulbs

The first thing you should do is replace all incandescent light bulbs with the energy efficient LED or CFL light bulbs. These bulbs may cost you more money to purchase but will save a large fraction of your yearly electricity expenditure. LED and CFL bulbs have a longer lifespan, consume less electricity and have a much lower annual operating cost. However, CFL bulbs contain 1-5 mg of mercury, which is harmful to the environment. Disposing of these bulbs should be done carefully.

Install Motion Sensors

Buy appliances with this certification

Motion sensors automatically turn bulbs on and off depending on when light is required. As the name suggests, they switch the lights on when they detect movement in the room, and switch them off when nobody is present. These are especially helpful for people who forget to switch the lights off when leaving a room.

Check Energy Star Rating

Always check for the Energy Star Rating logo when buying home appliances. This rating certifies that the particular appliance meets rigid energy efficiency guidelines. Appliances like refrigerators consume the most amount of electricity in your home, and buying an Energy Star certified refrigerator can save up to 30% of electricity consumed.

Service Your Air Conditioner

Power strips help save electricty

Approximately half of a household's electricity bill is spent on cooling. Following a few guidelines with regard to your air conditioner will save you a lot of money.

• Choose an AC unit that is proportionate to the size of your room, as very small or very large units reduce energy efficiency greatly.
• Place the units under shade as direct exposure to the sun increases power consumption by up to 10%. You can install an awning or plant trees to provide shade but make sure you don't obstruct the air intake of your AC.
• Clean out the air filters and call a technician to regularly service your AC and other home appliances like washing machines and ovens, to ensure they run at peak efficiency.

Switch off Unused Appliances

Electronics consume 75% of their total electricity consumption when they are left plugged in but not in use. Mobile chargers, televisions and computers are just some of the culprits that suck your electricity and add unnecessary costs to your bill. Power strips allow you to cut off power to a cluster of devices, so that they don't use electricity when not in use.

Measure Laundry Loads

Line-drying can save you money

Don't put in too much or too little laundry into the washing machine as it affects efficiency of your wash cycle. Throwing too many washed clothes in the drier might leave the clothes wet, requiring you to run it again. At the same time, putting very few clothes in the drier is a waste of your electricity.

If you use a drier, clean out the lint from its filters regularly in order to keep performance at its highest. The best way to save money on your electricity bill is to air-dry your washed clothes on a clothesline.

Limiting electricity consumption is important not only to save our electricity bill, but also to conserve energy for our future. Wastage of energy can cost us dearly.