Ever wondered how much it costs to use the usual appliances you find at home? If you are an iPhone 6s user, you would be surprised to know that it only costs you a little over $3 each year to charge your iPhone using the 12-watt charger for 2 hours and 10 minutes (the average full charging time).
Your laptop, if used at an average of 4 hours each day, costs $19 in electricity per year. A 35-43 inch LED television will cost you a little more at $36 to $216 each year. Your front-load washer, assuming that you wash your laundry twice a week, will cost around $45 per year. You can calculate other electricity costs of appliances here.
Although these seem to be small amounts if divided into months, these are still costs. Like every homeowner, we know you want to save costs where possible. Here are some ways you can save on energy:
- Use lamps instead. Make sure you have lamps or spotlights at home so when you need light up a space (when you are reading perhaps), you do not have to turn on all the lights in the room.
- Set your fridge temperature just right. Set the temperature of your fridge to 4-5 degrees and your freezer to -15 to -18 degrees. It would also be good to position your fridge in a cooler place in your home instead of having it under direct heat of the sun.
- Lessen the use of your dryer. Why not dry your clothes the old way—use a clothesline!
- Tune up your heating system. Show that heating system some love! It will cost you around $75 to tune up your heating, but you will save big time on energy costs as it will save up to 10% or more on your heating bills.
- Patch up holes and air leakages. Cover the leakages on your heating system as well as those little holes around the house and you’ll add 15% more on your energy bills on top of the 10% in number 1. Imagine how big your savings will be!
- Just give in to Energy Star. While Energy Star fridges will cost you about $400 for top-mount and $900 for side-by-side, you can save about $80 each year. If you buy their dishwashers and washing machines, you can up your savings to $140 each year.
- Buy energy-efficient electric heaters. Save on your showers by 20% just by using an energy-efficient electric heater.
- Unplug appliances when not in use. It has been said over and over because it works. If you are not using something, unplug it! Although you are not using your appliances, these still consume electricity on standby. To make sure you do not use up stand by energy (also known as ‘phantom energy’ or ‘vampire energy’ for obvious reasons), it is best to unplug all your appliances when not in use.
- Use solar power. These are just amazing. We would be surprised if you have not thought about installing panels yet!
There are many ways you can save on your energy costs at home. These changes need not be huge ones, but the return is worth it. You might also want to take advantage of new electricity offers by changing your electricity plan and save on your total consumption.
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