There are rumors that electricity prices are on the rise, but the good news is you can save electricity (and therefore lower your costs) just by swapping out or altering a few of your normal habits. Some examples from our home electrical service experts:
Heating
Instead of cranking up your heat, use a space heater to heat the room you’re in. A good space heater may cost you a little bit of money now, but in the end, you could save over $800 annually.
You could also simply dress warmer in order to stay comfortable. Invest in a pair of thick wool socks or wear an extra sweater around the house.
Lights & Fans
Turn off lights and fans that you’re not using. It may sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people leave their kitchen lights on while they’re in the dining room – or their bedroom fan on while they’re off doing laundry. By simply paying attention and shutting off lights and fans, you could save over $250 a year.
Cooking
Use a smaller appliance to cook – especially if you’re not cooking a lot of food at once. Traditional electric ovens can use up to 2,000 watts of electricity per hour, but appliances like toaster ovens, microwaves, or slow cookers use at least 25% less electricity.
If using your oven, you can also turn it off a few minutes early and the leftover heat will keep cooking your food.
Computers
Put your computer in “sleep” mode when you’re not using it. Just by being plugged in, your computer uses more electricity than you may think. Putting it in sleep mode could save you up to $175 a year.
Bulbs
In addition to turning your incandescent lights off, you can also swap them out for energy-efficient ones and save more electricity than you think. We wrote a great blog called “Types of Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs” that’ll tell you how much electricity each type of bulb uses and how long they’ll last compared to traditional bulbs.
Of course, if you ever have any electrical problems, don’t hesitate to call our home electrical service experts. We’ll get to the root of your problem as quickly as possible and have it fixed right.