Boost Your Home Budget by Cutting Your Energy Bills:

If you want to boost your home budget and, at the same time, provide your family with good living conditions – but not in a way that would make your kids feel uncomfortable – there’s always a way to save some money at the end of the month and do something good for the planet. If you’re unsure how, here are several amazing tips that might help you.

Turn off and unplug

Household appliances consume a lot of electricity, even when switched off. To begin, turn off all your extension cords. Seventy percent of the electricity is consumed even when the appliances are off, but not unplugged. Therefore, disconnect all extension cords and prevent wastage. Also, avoid having appliances in the stand-by mode because that way you can save up to five percent of the total electricity in the household.

Maintain your appliances

You can save some more money by maintaining your appliances and keeping them in order because they’ll use less energy that way. Your fridge is one of those appliances that are working 24/7, together with your freezer. In order to have them consume less energy, it’s important to keep them without excess ice. Otherwise, they’ll constantly use more electricity for cooling. 

Get new appliances

In these difficult times, affording new appliances can be hard, but if you have no choice, select new ones carefully. Be sure to pay attention to the energy grade. Buy devices that are in energy grade A because they use up to 35 percent less electrical energy than a unit of energy grade D. Although those grade-A devices can be more expensive, they’re a profitable investment in the long run.

Use solar power

This is another simple yet effective way to cut down your energy bill: instead of using electricity, try making the most of your solar power potential. You’ll have to invest some money first, though, and get some new solar panels, a useful solar inverter that will convert solar power into the power you can use, and other pieces of equipment. Again, this is a solution that pays off in the long run as you can save a significant amount of money every single month!

Solar battery charger

Speaking of utilizing solar power, here’s one more idea. Solar battery chargers are as effective as standard ones but, of course, reduce electricity bills. Your portable devices and batteries will continue to have a power source but it won’t be the electric grid. Bluetooth devices, iPod and MP3 players, portable gaming consoles, digital cameras, GPS, and cell phones – they can all use these battery chargers with solar energy transformed into electricity that won’t show up in your electricity bill. There are many ways to use solar energy, and you need to use them in your home in order to cut down your energy bills.

Heating and cooling

Heating and cooling are among the largest expenses when it comes to power consumption. One of the most effective ways to maintain the desired temperature is good insulation that can reduce energy consumption by 25 to 60 percent. Also, if you use electricity for heating, choose heaters with a thermostat. If you use air-conditioning, though, make sure that the difference between the outdoor and indoor temperature does not exceed 5 to 10 degrees.

Maximize your dishwasher and washing machine

If you want to save electricity with a washing machine, do not use prewash for whites, and use shorter programs. In addition to significant time and water savings, the dishwasher will save electricity as well. When it comes to the dishes, wash them only when the dishwasher is full – this goes for the washing machine as well – and avoid cycles with high temperatures.

Use the stove wisely

If you wish to make the most of your stove, use pots that are the same size as the stove ring, and keep them covered when preparing food. If you use the oven, thermostat doesn’t need to be at maximum and avoid opening the door frequently, because you waste tons of energy every time you do that.

Some of these saving methods might seem tiring and senseless, but if you keep doing them, they’ll turn into a useful habit. This way you could set a good example for your children, who would then grow up into people who care about the environment and know how to be frugal!