I am Project Envolve Ambassador with PPL Electric Utilities. I receive product and/or compensation, however I love saving money on my monthly electric bills as much as the next person and all opinions are 100% my own!
These energy saving tips for summer can really be used all-year long to lower your electric bill!
As the weather is just beginning to heat up in anticipation of summer, my husband and I have already had our first disagreement over what temperature to set our thermometer at.
It usually goes something along the lines of…
Husband: The air doesn’t need to be running all the time.
Me: You’re only saying that because you’re not home all day. I need air moving.
Husband: Our electric bill will be too high.
Me: Let me show you some ways we can keep it down and I can still breathe.
So while I’m outlining my argument for him, I thought I’d share some tips with you guys too! I’ve been working with my local electric company for the past few years to bring you guys ideas and guidelines for how to lower your electric bill. So while most of these tips are repeats, I thought it would be nice to have it all in one spot as a quick reference guide!
Feel free to print it out and share with your husbands! 😉
Ways to Lower Your Electric Bill Starting Today!
- Starting today, think about some ways to prepare your dinner that don’t involve turning on the stove or oven. Use your grill, slow cooker or even your microwave! All of these not only cost less to run in terms of your electric bill, but they also don’t heat up your entire kitchen the way an oven does which in turn costs more for the air conditioning to cool down. I have lots of grilling, slow cooker and microwave recipes on my site that will not leave anybody complaining when you serve these!
Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad (you’ll never guess how I made this! hint…it wasn’t on the grill!)
- If you have a fireplace, you need to start thinking of it as the largest window in your house… that is left open all the time. Fireplaces are the #1 source of heat loss in the winter and cold air loss in the summer. Your pumping money straight through that thing. We ordered a draft stopper (think large balloon that plugs the opening to your fireplace), and we immediately felt a difference. Check out THIS POST for more information! And seriously, don’t just read this and skim over it…check it out today, because you can save up to 30% on your air conditioning bill just with this one simple step!
- As you head out for vacations this summer, be sure to go over This Simple Checklist to prep your home. There’s no need to be cooling your house, or running electronics, while you’re not even there to enjoy it!
- Use fans to your advantage! If you’re in the room, keep the ceiling fans running. Air circulation is never a bad thing. But once you leave the room, make sure to turn the fans off. Fans cool people not rooms, so once you’re gone, the fan is just wasting electricity if there isn’t a person to cool down.
- Make sure your curtains and blinds are energy-efficient. The sun is the world’s greatest heater! That can be a great thing in the winter, but not so much in the summer. We keep most of our curtains closed during the day when the sun is at its peak!
- Replace your air filters once a month. This is the easiest way to ensure that your cooling system is running efficiently!
- We took it a step further recently and had all of our ductwork professionally cleaned. This doesn’t really fall under the category of something small you can do each day (or something that is cheap), but it is a good idea to make sure you have it done every 3-5 years. It will prolong the life of your heating/cooling system, help it run more efficiently and keep your house cleaner! Plus, it’s been great for our allergies! Check out This Post that has a lot more info on it!
- And last, but actually one of my favorite ways to reduce your electric bill… have a Family Unplugged Night! Not everything has to be done in front of a screen or with lights on! Head out to your local park, play a game on the back deck, go for a walk or play flashlight tag! It will be a blast for the whole family and save on electricity!
Check out this past post I did on Ways to Stay Cool in the Summer! There are even more great tips that you can do every day!
