Monthly Electrical CostsReduce your monthly electrical costs is becoming more important all the time as rates rise in most jurisdictions. The previous post referred to a significant increase in the cost of electricity for people living in the province of Ontario, Canada and specifically in Ottawa. Although we have not confirmed, we suspect that most jurisdictions across North America will experience the same kind of increases over the next few years. We are talking about increases of 200% or more over the next 5 years. These numbers are significant and if nothing else it means that we all should think about how much electricity usage we can reduce in order to save costs.

This is the main focus of this web site and posts, however we encourage our readers to become active on political sites as well to put pressure on the government to manage and reduce costs for the generation of electricity across the province. Enough about why we need to think about reducing electrical costs and political overtones. How can we reduce our electricity costs by conserving energy and using less energy contributing to less greenhouse energy impact on the earth.

Monthly Electrical Costs

We have composed a long list of things that the average homeowner can consider. Some will apply directly while others will only apply to consumers in specific situations so pick and choose those that make sense for your situation. You may have seen many of these previously on other posts, however hopefully there are some that are new that will help you manage your energy and electrical usage.

Here we go, in no particular order.

Monthly Electrical Costs Reduction with an Immediate Payback

  • Turn your lights off in rooms not being used
  • Cook foods with a microwave
  • Turn the furnace down (saves electricity and fuel needed for heating)
  • Unplug charging units when not in use
  • Unplug TV sets if not being used
  • Keep the coils clean and free of dust under your fridge
  • Do not use the dishwasher dry cycle
  • Run appliances etc in off peak hours
  • Dry your clothes during off peak hours
  • thaw frozen food in the fridge
  • Unplug computers when not in use
  • Program computers to go into sleep mode
  • Wash full loads in the laundry
  • Use the oven window instead of opening the door
  • Use the microwave or toaster oven instead of a full size oven

Electricity reduction with a Delayed Short Term Payback

  • Lights on timers
  • Outdoor Lights using photo sensors
  • Use a programmable thermostat to take advantage of off peak rates
  • Use a ceiling fan to move air around to avoid air conditioning
  • Switch to Compact Fluorescent bulbs
  • Consider a hot water jacket for your hot water heater
  • Use LED lights for Christmas decoration
  • Sign up for Energy reduction programs to avoid brownouts

Electricity reduction with a LongerĀ  Term Payback

  • Upgrade older appliances (fridge, stove, washing M/C, Dryer) with new energy efficient M/C’s
  • Insulate windows to reduce heating costs
  • Insulate attics to reduce heating costs
  • Also Insulate wall receptacles on outside walls
  • Arrange for an energy audit to be completed
  • Use blinds on windows to reduce air conditioning costs

Some of these ideas will also help to reduce your heating and cooling costs as well, particularly if you heat your home by using natural gas. We will soon add a similar blog post about how to reduce your heating costs as well since this is a great time of year to consider how large your heating bills will be during the winter.

I am sure there are a lot more ideas about how to reduce electricity costs. We would love to hear about them, so please comments on our blog.