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High Electricity Costs
Overview
People often don’t know why they have high electricity charges on their utility bill. Electricity is measured in kWh and an electric bill shows how many kWh were used over the last month, but it doesn’t break down the charges like on a phone bill. The best way to lower electricity use is to identify what is using the most electricity in the house, and either replace the items with more energy efficient technology or adjust the amount of time, or time of day that the items are in use.
There are a few straightforward steps to tracking where your electricity is being consumed, but it is best left to a home energy auditor who can help prioritize the large energy culprits and devise a retrofitting plan to drastically lower your bills. If you are interested in tackling this yourself you can start by:
Making an inventory of everything which is plugged in and which uses electricity including
- Lights
- Electronics (TVs, computers, etc)
- Appliances (refrigerators, dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer)
- Electric water heater
- Air conditioner
- Pool or spa pump and heater
- fish tanks
Identify which things use the most electricity. If possible use a Kill A Watt power meter to measure consumption. Common electricity drains are
- Incandescent light bulbs or lights left on most of the time
- Electric water heater
- Inefficient refrigerators (greater than 10 years old) or multiple refrigerators
- Ineffective or inefficient air conditioner
- Pool or spa pump and heater
Make the changes which are the easiest to do first
- Plug entertainment centers and home office appliances into smart power strips to reduce phantom loads
- Set the thermostat a few degrees higher in summer to save on air conditioning costs
- Turn off or unplug unused lights and appliances and switch to energy efficient CFL light bulbs
- Replace inefficient appliances with energy star qualified appliances, such as refrigerators, which pay for themselves through energy savings. Some appliances also save water in addition to electricity and can lower a home’s water bill and electricity bill
- Washing machine
- Dishwasher
- Install a more efficient pool pump and adjust the filtration schedule and duration
Consider larger projects which may cost more upfront but which can save much more over time
- The most efficient cooling system is one that doesn’t need to run most of the time. Reduce the need for the air conditioner by:
- Insulating and sealing gaps in walls, ceilings, floors, windows, and walls which make the house heat up and lose cool air
- Insulating and sealing leaks in the duct system to make sure all the cold air from the air conditioner actually gets to the rooms in the house
- Installing a whole house fan which can quickly flush hot air from the attic when it is hotter outdoors than inside the house
- Replace an electric water heater with a solar thermal water heating system or heat pump water heater
- Install solar thermal heating for a pool or spa