10 Ways to Reduce Utility Bills

Reducing utility bills is an easy and effective way of savings money around the house. Here are my ten simple ways of doing so!

Water

1. Upgrade your shower head. This is super easy and fast to do. Reducing your water not only helps with your bills, it also helps with making sure you’re not wasting water for no reason! Make sure the new one you purchase has the WaterSense label on it.
2. Lower the temperature on your water heater. Again, very simple to do! Most default to 140 degrees and be reducing it to 120, it helps save! Plus, if you have small children, it’s recommended to keep it below 120 degrees anyway.
3. Wash clothes in warm or cold water. This way you cut your energy usage by almost half!

Power

1. Change out light bulbs. Use CFL or LED bulbs instead of traditional incandescent bulbs. While the upfront cost tends to be higher, these can save you so much on your power bills.
2. Use a smart power strip. Did you know that even when something that’s plugged in is off, it’s still pulling energy out of the socket?! Using a smart power strip is a great way to avoid this, plus it’s nice to have all your outlets in one place.
3. Check with your utility company. Utility companies may offer certain discounts for different types of energy use. We have an electric car and need to plug it in every night. BUT our electric company offers a great discount for doing so, so even though we’re using electricity, we’re still saving money (not to mention saving money on gas)!
4. Look into solar energy. Again, the upfront cost may be prohibitive, but if you plan on staying your house for as long as your mortgage is, it may be worth doing some research into it.

Heating/Cooling

1. Seal everything! Making sure that all your windows and doors are sealed correctly. Double-paned windows and doors can help as well, plus they reduce outside noise!
2. Adjust your thermostat. Lowering the temperature of your house while you’re out or at night while asleep can significantly cut costs as well. A programmable thermostat (like the Nest) is a great way to help since it’s a “smart” device, it learns over time what’s suitable for your needs and has an “eco” function on it as well.
3. Adjust fridge temperature. If you set your fridge to 38 and your freezer to 5, they still keep your food edible, but they don’t have to work as hard to do so.

What are some of your tips to save money on utility bills? Let me know in the comments below!