No More High Energy Bills And I Did It Without Solar Panels

I've got my monthly energy bill down big time and I did it without solar panels.  My energy bill is 25% less than the previous month. Here is how I did it.

Insulate Windows

Making sure that your windows insulate correctly is probably the single best thing you can do to lower your monthly energy bill.

If you have single pane windows your money is literally going out the window. Single pane windows are really bad insulators. Changing to double pane windows will save you a ton of money but they are expensive. You can put up heat sealing drapes in the summer and storm windows in the winter. This will save you a ton of money. You may want to take a room by room approach. The first room you should do this in is the family room.

Attic Ventilation

The next best thing you can do to save money each month involves attic ventilation. Attics need to vent air correctly this is why they usually have vents. If the vents get clogged with dust, your attic will get too hot during the summer. You should clean out the vents in your attic. If your attic does not have vents, you should consider having a few put in. You can go to your local hardware store and purchase attic ventilation kits.

Air Conditioner Filters

A dirty air filter makes your air conditioner work much harder which means it takes more energy to do its job. Changing your air conditioner filters once a month will save you money off your monthly energy bill.

Range Filter

The fan above your range uses a ton of energy. If the filter in your range hood is clogged with grease, the fan will work a lot harder to do its job and cost you a lot of money. You should change your range filter once every 3 months depending on how much you use it.

Turn Off Lights To Save Energy

You should lower the wattage of light bulbs you are using and turn off lights whenever possible. Every light bulb has a wattage rating. Ten 60-watt bulbs in recessed lighting in your ceiling turned on for 4 hours a day will cost you about $11 per month.

Never leave lights on at night. If you have just one 60-watt outside light that burns all night it is costing you about $10 per month.

Forget dimmer lights, they save you very little.

Fluorescent lights use much less power but they cost you more. However they last anywhere from 5 to 10 times longer and so that additional cost up front pays for itself over time. Fluorescent lights also have a reduced carbon footprint.

Appliances Power Usage

Use this solar power calculator to determine how many watts your major appliances use.

If you want to understand how the solar power calculate works or you want to calculate this manually you first need to estimate how many hours per day you use the appliance. You then use this formula:
Wattage ÷ 1,000 × hrs/day × $/kWh ÷ 30 days/month = total cost per month

A refrigerator uses 540 watts per hour. If your refrigerator runs for 125 hours a week, that's 125 hours ÷ 7 days = 17.9 hours per day. Here's what a month's worth of use costs you:
540 ÷ 1,000 × 17.9 × 0.15 × 30 = $43.50 per month

If you are using a central air conditioner (for 10 hours a day during the hot summer months) it's costing you:
4000 ÷ 1,000 × 10 × 0.15 × 30 = $180.00 per month

 

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