Stuck at Home? Here's 4 Ways to Save on Your Electric Bills

Finding simple ways to save money is always a good idea, but in uncertain times when more of us are stuck and home and every penny counts, it's a priority now more than ever. Fortunately, there are a few easy ways to reduce your electricity, even if you've switched to a work-from-home workday.

To help create as much certainty as possible in these turbulent times, we've put together our favorite tips and tricks to save wherever possible on your electric consumption. From ensuring lights and electronics are turned off before you leave a room to simply turning down your water heater's temperature, these tricks will help you save more on your monthly electricity bills.

1. Conduct energy sweeps

To save money, do a nightly energy sweep before you go to bed or even leave a room. Make sure that all unnecessary lights, ceiling fans, and appliances are switched off when you're not in the room. And think outside the box; you’ll probably be surprised by what you find. For example, simply turning off your cable box between uses can have a noticeable impact over a year, up to $50 by some estimates. Put, if you’re not using it now, turn it off.

2. Explore time-of-use plans and implement pre-cooling

Utilities generally charge more money for power during high-demand hours, also known as “on-peak” hours. Fortunately, most utilities also offer rate plans incentivizing customers to shift their highest energy demand into cheaper off-peak hours. In some cases, these times shift from season to season. You can help maintain comfort throughout the day while controlling your power bills by pre-cooling your home and coasting through the higher-priced hours with the AC on low.

3. Wash clothes in cold water

For maximum sanitation, always opt for a hot water cycle, but consider switching to warm or cold water if situations allow. It’s estimated that as much as 90% of your washer's energy goes to heating the water. Multiply that by an average of 400 loads per year for the typical American household! According to treehugger.com, washing on the hot/warm cycle for a year is equivalent to burning about 182 gallons of gasoline in a car; in an average (19.8 miles per gallon) car, that’ll get you around 3,595 miles. When you use cold water to wash, you only need energy to run the machine – about .24 kWh. That .24 kWh translates to about .41 pounds of CO₂ per load or about 162 pounds of CO₂ per year. That’s just 8 gallons of gas, or 164 miles of driving. That’s the equivalent reduction of 174 gallons of gas! 

4. Go solar for savings and future preparedness 

Most people think about going solar when the temperature and their bills rise. In truth, going solar before the summer heat hits will ensure a much better financial return in your first year of ownership. Most Arizona utilities support net metering, which credits solar customers for any excess electricity they feed into the utility grid. These credits can be used during hotter months to reduce your bills further. Your best chance to “bank” these credits is when your AC system is turned off, so going solar in the cooler months will maximize the over-production timeframe. 

Going solar will also help prepare you for whatever the future holds. Whether that's by saving even more money on your electric bills, adding a battery for back-up energy when the power goes out, or increasing your home's value when you go to sell, solar has many benefits that can help you prepare for the future.

If you want to take advantage of a great time of year to switch to solar and start building up your energy credits, we invite you to request a free solar quote below. You can also download our exclusive solar guide to help you understand some of the most important considerations when considering a solar investment.