Share your tips to reduce monthly spending!
I really feel we have spent the past 30 years trying to stay ahead of the game by buying energy efficient appliances and going LED with the lights and by following the tips mentioned. After we find a way to lower our costs the Utility Companies just raise their prices.
My primary heat is wood. Electric heat pump is the backup.
Time of use with demand plan, and timers/load controllers on heavy use appliances. Electric water heaters on timers makes a HUGE difference.
We use less electricity by keeping the thermostat at 67/60 day/night in the winter and 79/77 in summer. When we’re out of town, we turn the water heater off and adjust the thermostat to just maintain the house.
We tried time of use rates once. The daytime window of cheaper rates was so small that I couldn’t get laundry and cooking done if I had anything else like grocery shopping to do. And it didn’t make sense to cook dinner at 2 pm, let it cool, put it in the refrig, and nuke it at 5 pm. We opted out, and I don’t want to do it again.
We get reports from our electric company comparing our use with that of 90 similar homes. We’re at 48% of the average use. I love it when the electric company calls, on a summer day when the temp in the house is 80, to get me to sign up for their - what is is called? - CoolGuard? program that would shut our AC off at times of high demand.
So true. In 20 years in our current house, we have insulated the attic, caulked & weather stripped windows and doors, bought new windows, replaced AC with heat pump, got a programmable thermostat, got a new roof with better ridge vent, plus other things I’ve mentioned above and some I’ve forgotten. The first year, we paid 7-9 cents per kWh, and the last 12 months we’ve paid 16-19 cents (that includes all the charges and fees, current “price to compare” is $0.091). Hard to feel like we’re saving money on utilities.
I find out what peak hours of the day are that the utility company charge more money and I don’t run major appliances during those hours, including showers. For example, this time of year the peak is from 1 pm to 7 pm, so I wash clothes and dishes before or after those hours. It doesn’t seem like it’s much of a sacrifice, if any, and with some things, like my heater, I can’t apply operating only before or after those hours. The peak hours change two times a year.
I use US BANK CASH + credit card to get 5% back on utility and internet payments. Not a fortune, but eases the pain.
I self-installed a solar system costing approximately $6,000 total to offset at least half my electric bill. We have the highest electric rates in the country. I am on time of day for the rest of my electric and only run the heavy items (stove and dryer) during the cheap daytime rates. That is because adding panels and batteries to run the over or dryer for an hour or so is not cost effective. However, once my electric is essentially free after paying off the equipment, I may add more capacity and be completely off grid with everything.
All lights in the house are LED and luckily I have no heating or cooling costs due to my climate. I also have an on-demand propane hot water system.
With some tweaks to the solar, I should be able to reduce my costs by 3/4 and pay the complete system off in just a few years. Before I started, monthly was $200 or higher.
- My utility rates are: ~21.5¢ daytime, ~64.5¢ evening peak, ~43¢ overnight
If my batteries are low, I charge them during the daytime rate and use them evening and overnight. So anything I use either comes free from the sun or at the cheapest daytime rate if from the utility.