*Photo of thermostat on beige wall by Erik Mclean from Pexels*

Updated 2024.07.29. This post contains affiliate links and Useful Roots will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on commissionable links.

Wondering how to lower your electric bill in the winter or in the summer? Below, you will find tips for both.

Electricity can be a large part of your budget and much of the bill is determined by two things: usage of electricity and supplier. In some areas of the world, you can choose your supplier, but in others, you can’t.

So in this article, we are going to focus on something you can control that has the potential to reduce your electricity bill, and that is your use of electricity.

When you reduce your use of electricity, your bill goes down.

When your bill goes down, you have more money to spend on other needs and essentials, creating more freedom in your budget. Freedom in the budget is one path to personal and familial happiness.

Some of the implementation ideas to reduce your electricity bill may have an upfront cost. Keep in mind that rolling, slow changes are better than no effort at all, so feel free to implement these tips month by month, noticing if they had an effect on your specific situation, before implementing the next time.

This will help you collect accurate information on the tangible results of each action and smooth out your budgetary spending, making the process of reducing electricity use easier.

So without further ado, here are 13 ways to reduce your electric bill -

*13 Tips To Reduce Your Electricity Bill At Home text overlay photo of light next to bed by Maria Orlova from Pexels*

1 - Budget Bill

Check out if your supplier offers budget billing and if so, enroll. Budget Bill is a service that systematically aggregates data of your electricity use by quarter and allows you to pay a fixed rate based on that usage for the following quarter.

Budget Bill helps you to budget and plan for your bill. It also helps you improve your usage. You can review the data collected for usage by the quarter to make adjustments that can improve your bill for the next budget.

2 - LED everything

Anything that emits a light, see if you can turn it into an LED system. Light bulbs, appliances, seasonal lights, outdoor lights - anything.

3 - Utilize FREE sunlight for tasks

Do chores requiring lighting at night during the day. If you need lights to do the chore at night, this means you need electricity. When possible use free lighting instead. Swap chores that require you to use a light when performed in the evening to early morning, with sunlight, and do them during the day.

4 - Install a low-flow showerhead

Hot water usage can be a large portion of your electricity bill. By swapping your shower heads with low flow shower heads that pump out fewer gallons of water per minute, you are using less water, and therefore, less electricity.

5 - Time your showers

By the same metric, long, steamy hot showers do increase the water heaters’ output and therefore, the electricity needed to heat the water is increased. If you can, take a timer into your bathroom and time your showers.

First, just set it to count for as long as you are in naturally, then see if you can cut that time by 10%, then by 20%, and then, 30%, going as low as you can. This and #4 have the dual effect of reducing your water and sewer bills.

6 - Use power strips

Power strips allow you to plug in multiple devices to the same place with the ease of being able to turn every single item off with the flip of a single button. They reduce energy consumption by allowing you to cut the power to vampire devices - devices that are handy to have plugged in like television sets and some kitchen appliances, but not always in use.

When an electrical device is plugged in when not in use to a regular outlet, it continues to draw low levels of power, increasing your bill at very small levels that, yes, do add up. With a power strip, you can easily cut off this slow leak by just turning all devices in the same area off, at once.

*Photo of toaster oven plugged into multiple outlet electrcial socket by Charlotte May from Pexels*

7 - Unplug things not in use

Anything that is plugged into a standard outlet has the potential to draw low levels of electricity into it, even if not on or in use. A device doing this is called a vampire device and they are drawing out energy and running up your bill. Cell phone chargers, computer chargers, electric toothbrush charging devices are all common culprits here.

Just unplug them or plug them into a power strip to easily disengage multiple vampire devices at once (see #6).

8 - Open your windows

Opening the windows in the morning can cool down a warm home during the day with the benefit of cross ventilation and it can prevent you from turning on the air conditioner, which you guessed it, uses electricity.

Consider even opening the windows in the upper levels of a home, even if you are elsewhere, as doing so can release trapped heat, which also contributes to a cooler home.

9 - Turn off your heater

On warm days when it is going to be above 60 degrees Fahrenheit all day, turn off your heating system. While you may use propane or oil to heat your home, the furnace often uses electricity to distribute heat throughout the house. To avoid it kicking on when you can or do have your windows open, turn it off.

10 - Turn off ceiling fans

If you aren’t in the room, and you use ceiling fans to cool the room, turn them off when you or your animals are no longer using them.

11 - Turn off your porch lights

LED or not, if you manually turn on your outdoor lights at night as a ritual, go around and manually turn them off first thing in the morning.

12 - Watch your usage of heat-generating electrical devices

Heating devices can sometimes use up the most energy in your budget. Dryers, heat pads, space heaters, all these draw a lot of energy, and can increase your bill significantly.

13 - Cover up drafty windows and doors

Leaky windows and doors can let out some of your precious heat and air conditioning. If you notice gaps in your doors or window seams that can be covered up with a door stopper or a plastic protector, do it. You'll be glad you did. Protecting your electrical investment can be a big money saver.

*Photo of light next to bed by Maria Orlova from Pexels*

Alright so there you have it, a few ways to reduce your electric bill through reducing your usage. Remember, some of these tips may take an investment upfront (i.e. LED everything or buying a low-flow shower head) and it’s okay to move slowly. Slow progress is still progress.

If you are wondering, what is the best way to reduce the amount of an electric bill? The answer is: the best way is the one that works for your situation and sometimes this takes some trialing of various techniques to see which actions give you the best result.

When on the electricity lowering path, don’t give up if you strike out with the first hot tip, we encourage you to try a few different things and use a combination of those actions to reach your desired effect: lowering the amount of money you hand over to the utility company every month and increasing the money freed up in your bank account.

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13 Tips To Reduce Your Electricity Bill At Home