Small Changes to Help Lower Your Electric Bill While Helping the Planet

According to Apple News, extreme weather events, like the unprecedented storm in Texas in February and the current heat waves in California, are becoming more common and increase the stress on our nation’s power grids.

Noah Horowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council explained how we can help take some of the load off the power grid. ‘Any demands we can take off the system will help keep the lights on in these situations, while also lessening the impact on the climate year-round,’ Horowitz said.

But how do you use less energy to decrease the stress on the nation’s power grid while creating a healthier planet?

Change Your Light Bulbs The go-to eco-friendly alternative to incandescent bulbs is LED bulbs, which last up to 10 years and contain no mercury. LED bulbs use up to 80 percent less energy than traditional bulbs. The founder of Sustainability Concierge, Friday Apaliski, said ‘people have reduced their electric bills by 30 percent just by changing all of their lighting to LEDs.’ To reduce your energy bill and create a greener home to help the planet out, switch your regular bulbs to LED bulbs.

Lower Your Water Temperatures The second highest energy expense in your home after your HVAC system is your water heater. According to Andrea Woroch, a money-saving expert in California, it’s smart to lower the temperature of your water heater as it’s often set by the manufacturer to 140 degrees, while most households only need it to be around 120 degrees. Not only will it help to lower your water heater temperature, it will also help to use your washer on the cold cycle. Even if you wash your clothes on warm instead of hot, you can cut your energy usage of each load in half.

Invest in Smart Technology By creating a smart home, you can avoid wasting electricity by having the capability to switch your lights off or raise the AC even while your away from home. Smart thermostats and plus allow you to control your home’s systems from your phone. If you’re not sure what smart technology would be a good addition to your home, check out our blog post on the best smart technology from Amazon.

Purchase Eco-Friendly Electronics Eventually your old refrigerator, TV, dishwasher, or other home appliances will tire out and it will be time to buy a new one. A lot of the newer electronics and appliances have been awarded an Energy Star label, which means you’ll lose less energy, saving you money in the long run. A typical household with Energy Star appliances saves up to $450 annually.

Unplug Your Devices When You’re Not Using Them A lot of appliances in your home are what's called phantom loads, which means even when they’re turned off, they continue to use electricity. All these phantom loads tend to add up—to the turn of around $165 a year, according to a NRDC report. It’s a smart idea to buy separate power strips for things that need to stay on consistently and those that can be turned off fully from time to time.

It’s important to make as many of these changes as you can, not only to lower your electric bill, but also to create a change in our climate.