Ways to save big money on your electric Bill

The prices of everything are going up: food, clothing, gas, entertainment, etc.  And because of inflation, the price of your electric bill is most likely much higher than it was last year.  So what do you do?  Do you just turn off your power and use candles like they did in the old days?  No, there are many more ways to cut your electric bill, and to cut it drastically. In fact, if you know what you are doing, you can potentially cut your electric bill in half!   That's right, you read that correctly.  I said you could cut your electric bill in HALF!

Imagine how great that would be? 

If you pay $200 a month, wouldn't you like to save an extra $100 a month?  That's an extra $1200 a year!  And what if your bill is $500 a month and you got it down to $250?  That'd be a saving of $3000 a year! 

So how do you do it?  Well, you will have to invest some money to do so, but (and I do mean BUT) it is worth it, as what I am about to tell you will be an investment that will pay for itself in no time!

Below are some things you can do to cut your electric bill...

1.  Install timers on all the water heaters in your house.

If your house uses an electric water heater, then you are using a lot of electricty.  Did you know that unit runs all day long, turning on and off to heat itself?  But it doesn't need to.  Your average hot water heater is only used two to three times a day.  And it that means it only needs to heat up that many times per day.  So if you went down to the hardware store and bought an Electric Water Heater Timer and set it to turn the water heater on from 4 to 7 in the morning, and then from 5 to 10 at night, you'd have cut the use of the electric of that machine by way more than half.  That means that's that much less electric you have to pay at the end of the month!

Now let's look at this a little deeper.  If you have an average 50 gallon water heater, that tank will hold enough water for at least a four to five person family.  And did you know that once that heater is heated, if the electric to that heater were turned off and left unused, that tank will not cool down to room temperature by itself until six or seven days pass by.  It is that well insulated.  So why does it need to heat itself 10, 20, 30 times a day?  All it really needs is to heat up one time before each of the following occasions:  your morning shower before you go to work, your mid-day and evening meal, and your evening shower.

Now, a timer for your water heater costs about 50 dollars and is so simple to install, you can do it yourself (that is if you know what you are doing.  Always make sure to turn off the breaker before you do so!)

So for the 50 dollars that an electric water heater timer costs, you can cut a huge chunk out of your monthly electric bill.  In fact, the timer will probably pay for itself in just a few months.

2.  Split level mini AC/Heating units

Most people have a dinosaur heating and cooling unit which draws a lot of power.  This equals a lot of money to operate the unit that in turn must be paid at the end of the month.  But today there are many alternatives to using those old money-sucking units.  The best thing is a split level mini.  These are used all over Europe, Asia, and even South America.  And they cost you monthly about half the price of a regular heating and cooling home unit.

A split level mini is called a split level because it is one main outside unit, but has many different inside wall mounted units to be installed in each different room of the home.  This means each room gets it's own temperature zone.  And each inside unit can be digitally set to your own desired temperature.  So you can make one room hotter or colder than another, and you can set the unit to cool or heat at that temperature.  Thus, you don't have to make the entire house the same temperature using that old dinosaur. Rather you can save money by lowering the heat or cooling in rooms you don't use as often.
Also, the units are designed to use much less electricity, so not only do you save a ton of money, but you can even close a few doors in your house and turn a few units off and save even more!

What is the cost of the split level minis?  Not that bad.  They are around the cost of your typical HVAC unit.  So why use the old technology which costs more per month, when you can get the new technology and save money!  Further split level mini units are very easy to install!  I installed two in my house all by myself, and all I had to do was call an electrican to come do the wiring.  It was that easy!

3.  Learn how to use solar panels and utilize the power of the sun.

One of the biggest electrical drawers in your house is your freezer.  And wouldn't you know that if the power went out for several days, you would loose a lot of money if all your frozen goods thawed out.  So why not buy a few solar panels and hook your freezer up to those?  If it ran off of those entirely (with a battery charged back-up system), then wouldn't that save a ton of money on your power bill?

Solar technology, although still ineffecient in some ways, has come a long way.  I knew a man who built his own house with only a few solar panels.  He used them to charge his battery power tools (drills, saws, etc.) and let their backup batteries charge while he worked.  He built the entire inside of his house without any electric from the power company.  He only used solar energy!

If a guy can build a house with solar panels, why not use them after your house is built to help save money.  Sure they are little inefficient, but if you live in the South where it's always sunny, it doesn't hurt to use them to get as much energy as you can from the sun, and then using batteries, converters, regulators, etc. use that energy to supplement your total energy use.  Imagine how much you could save every month if you used that extra energy, even if you only used that electricity on small things like charging your cell phone, your power tools, your cooler, your garage door, your water heater, etc.  It would pay for itself in the long run, and buying the solar panels would be like getting them for free.  Plus, there are tax credits for those who buy and use solar energy.

4.  Make your house more energy efficient by getting better windows, or even tinting your windows.

Old houses are notorious for losing a lot of heat through the windows in winter and heating up too quickly in the summer.  It's all because of windows that are either single (rather than double) paned, or because the sun heats up what's inside as it shines through.  This in turn raises the heating and cooling costs, making your bill skyrocket.  But it doesn't have too.  There are many windows available today and at low cost which can replace your old windows.  There is also new tinting film which keeps heat from entering at all that can be installed on your existing windows.  And of course there are tax credits for people who take advantage of these methods to better insulate their homes.

So there are many ways to cut back on your electric use and to save money.  But it all depends on whether or not you are willing to try them out.  Some say, "Well, it will cost too much to do all that!"  But others, who have actually tried these methods, have found that it was worth the cost, as often these methods end up saving them so much, that they actually pay for themselves in a short time.

Know of any other ways to cut your electric bill?  Why not share them with us?

Mr. Frugal