12 Simple Ways to Make Your Electric Bill Less Shocking

Admit it. You dread the arrival of your electricity bill. We all depend on electricity but do we really need the amount we consume each month? Want to find out?

Use These 12 Simple Ways to Make Your Electric Bill Less Shocking.

1. Turn Unused Lights OFF!

It's been a battle cry of parents since the light bulb was invented but even adults are guilty of this offense. Use this equation to calculate your potential savings in turning off unused lights:

One 60 watt incandescent bulb uses... 60 watts

60 watts x 720 hours per month = 43200 watt-hours, which equals 43 kW-hours.

(For the sake of this exercise, let's say $0.19 per kW-hour)

43 kW-hrs per month x $0.19 per kW-hr = $8.17 per month.

Multiply by 12, that's..... $98.04 per year!

Of course, this depends on your rates and assumes the bulb is on year round. But consider the number of lights left on each day, (exterior and landscape lighting too), and it's easy to see the potential savings that turning off unnecessary lights can bring. This applies to ceiling fans too. Fans cool YOU, not air so if you aren't under it you're wasting money. Not watching your TV? Turn it off!

Here are 11 MORE ways to lower your electricity bill:

2. Unplug Appliances and Computers when not in use.

Even when not in use those little kitchen gadgets are like a swarm of electricity mosquitoes, slowly sipping power as they sit quietly on your counter. Pull their plugs. Feed them only when necessary. Electronics are little power suckers too. Even in idle mode computers and laptops draw energy which, like pennies in a bucket, will eventually add up to big bucks. Unplug them and give your wallet a break.

3. Lower the temperature of your water heater.

4. Adjust thermostats at night, when you're not home and turn it off when on vacation.

5. Curling irons, blow driers, radios and cell phone chargers pull watts too. Unplug them when not in use.

6. Lower the temperature in your refrigerator and freezer.

7. Pool Owners - Turn the pump off for a few hours each day.

8. Open windows or use ceiling fans instead of the AC

9. Wash only FULL loads in laundry and dishwashers

10. Use lower watt bulbs. Using the above equation, recalculate the cost of a 75 and a 150 watt bulb!

11. Use your grill more often instead of stoves and ovens.

12. Use a rake vs. a leaf blower - watch your electric bill AND your weight go down!

Give these suggestions the test. Try them for one month and see what happens. The savings might surprise you!