Kimberly
How to Save Money & Lower Your Electric Bill in an Apartment
Living in an apartment is often amazing but it doesn’t come without its own issues. Among them is, of course, the electric bill which can soar really high.
You may even catch yourself wondering who used up all of that electricity. But you shouldn’t panic when a much better solution is to control your bills in creative ways.
There are some habits you can change and some things you can improve that can help you make the most of your electricity while still saving up a lot.
The best thing you can do in the beginning, once you move to your apartment is to track your habits and see what may be wasting the most of your power. You can also shop for a fixed rate electricity plan that will match your lease in term.
But after that, it’s all about your habits. Here are some things you can do to reduce your electricity bills.
Plug load management
Over half of all electricity you spend in a month you use in a month is by home electronics which are using it when they are turned off. Any device or appliance that has a clock or a timer or is set for being instantly turned on is an appliance that will draw power all the time.
Even when they are just plugged in, they are stealing power.
You are basically paying your devices to do nothing. This can include your coffee maker, your phone charger, or your TV. The solution for this is quite simple. Just turn them off when you are not using them. Unplug them completely.
The easiest way to do all of this too is to get a power strip and then plug all of your devices in that and then just unplug the strip when you are not using any of them. This makes it more convenient for you and easier to remember as well.
This can help you save a lot of electricity and also prevent wear on your devices and appliances as being constantly plugged in means that they are always working and this makes them break more often. This is especially true for chargers, for instance, or for your phone.
Cool off naturally
Air conditioning is a major convenience and it can be a lifesaver in the summer. Just going inside a cold room after being on a hot summer day feels like going into a spa. However, air conditioning is a huge expense for you.
It can actually take a major bite out of your budget if you use it too often, all the time, or anything similar. This is especially true if you live in warmer areas where summers get especially hot.
However, it doesn’t have to be like this. You can set yourself up for better bills if you help your air conditioning by making it cooler inside.
One of the best ways to do this is to close the shade during the day to block the heat from the outside. The sunshine is nice but it really doesn’t help your air conditioning work less. The less it has to work, the lower your bills will be.
This is not the only way, of course.
You can turn off your air conditioning completely and then cool your rooms off in the morning or during the night and then just close your shades right before it gets hot outside.
This is an effective way to do it. It will also do a great job of reducing your bill. If it’s a windy day, opening several of your windows can also do it.
Replace your bulbs to Lower Your Electric Bill
Traditional, incandescent bulbs spend a lot of energy and you often have to replace them more than once during a year. However, LED lights use 10% of the power the traditional bulbs use and they can last for 11 years when being used all the time.
The calculation is pretty obvious with this one – you can save up a lot when you use energy efficient bulbs. Lighting uses more power than anything else in your home too, so the savings can be huge.
Because LEDs are expensive at the outset, you can get just a few of them for the spots where your lights are turned on the most.
They will pay themselves off easily and you will forget that you used to buy bulbs on the regular. You can then switch the rest as they burn out.
This is an amazing investment that can help you really make a difference in your bill and in your environment.
Use fans to Lower Your Electric Bill
Your apartment may have fans but if it doesn’t, there might be a possibility that they can install a ceiling fan for your apartment.
They are amazing as they work through evaporation and they can make you feel a lot cooler during the summer. These are simple and convenient and they can lower your energy bill if you use them instead of your air conditioning too.
However, they can be a power drain as well if you don’t remember to turn them off when you leave the room.
Water heater management
If you have a water heater in your apartment, you can save up a lot of money when you turn down the temperature of the water.
When you think about it, it’s not such a huge change to make, especially because you add cold water to the hot water when you are showering. So, you don’t really need so much hot water after all.
Make the temperature on your water heater closer to the one you actually use and you will see major improvements and save up a lot of money.
If you want to invest a bit into this, you can get a water heater jacket for your water heater tank and wrap it around the tank to keep the temperature more consistent and to make the heat loss lower. This will help you save more energy.
Replace the filter
Your HVAC system already needs to work very hard. Well, what happens when your filter is clogged and it can’t do its job properly? You spend more energy and thus you spend more money.
This is a bad thing for your health too as it can cause you numerous health issues, especially in the respiratory area.
Keep in mind that you need to replace your air filter every three months to make sure that there is no dust and debris on it and that it can work properly with air flowing freely through the system.
This will not take up a lot of your time but it will save you a lot of money on electricity bills and money for repairs for the HVAC system.
You can check with your apartment complex and check if they do this – they might do it for free.
Get a new thermostat
Rarely does anyone remember to adjust their thermostat as they leave for work or for anything else. Just like that, no one would remember to readjust it later when returning home.
This is a fact of modern living and we are all too busy to notice all of those small things that we need to do.
However, adjusting your thermostat as necessary can make you get more power savings, as much as ten percent. Imagine how much money you could pay for your electric bills.
But the good news is that you don’t have to remember. You can get a smart thermostat and make it all easier for you.
When you get it installed, you can program it to raise or lower the temperature in your home as you need it, probably according to your schedule. This is very simple and it can bring you plenty of savings.
Meta Description
Electricity bills are really high and are predicted for soaring in the future. However, you can Lower Your Electric Bill in some simple, low to no cost ways. Read this article to find out how.
References on how to Lower Your Electric Bill
https://www.rent.com/blog/10-ways-save-apartments-monthly-electric-bill/
https://www.directenergy.com/blog/8-ways-lower-electricity-bills-first-apartment/
