10 Ways to Save on your Electric Bill

With winter being in full swing, many people are looking for ways to save on their electric bill. I already try to watch the electric we use but I find my self wondering how to lower our bill even further. I challenged myself to lower our electric bill by 20% in the next 2 months. Our last electric bill was $70.48. So I need to lower our bill by $14.09. How will I do this? Here are a few ideas that we are already doing and some I would like to try.

• We have a very open downstairs. We had been keeping our furnace on 74* and we were always cold! I put blankets up in the two door ways that lead to our "big" room. (It's 25ft x 18ft) and now we keep our heat on 56* and we wear t-shirts. I walk around barefoot! It's amazing how much of a difference putting these blankets up has made! cost - $0

• Use poly-foam to seal up nooks and crannies to ensure a tight seal on doors, windows and around areas where air escapes. (think window air conditioners). Available at WalMart, Lowe's, Target and many other stores.


• Use your crock pot! Not only does a crock pot work in your benefit to ease the stress of dinner hour, it also saves money on your electric bill. For some great recipes, go HERE and HERE.


• Clean your air filters regularly. Clean or replace air filters once a month, (twice a month if you have pets). This will save you $5.00 per month on electricity costs.


• Energy efficient light bulbs: These are long lasting, durable bulbs. A 13-watt energy efficient bulb will save you over $250.00 per bulb in the long run. If you get them when they are on sale and use all the coupons that have been out the past few weeks for these, they will be FREE to you. And save you money!


• Air dry: Air drying your clothes on a rack versus using your dryer can save you $150.00 per year. This is something I would like to do as I know our dryer eats up a lot of electricity and I can not afford a newer one right now. I do line dry all of our clothes in the summer and our electric bill is always under $40.


• Program your thermostat. Programming your thermostat could save you about $180 a year, according to EnergyStar.gov guidelines.
  
• Unplug. Gadgets like your cellphone charger and microwave suck up energy as long as they're plugged into a power source. Standby power for appliances not in use is typically 5% to 10% of electricity use. Plug your devices into a power strip that can be turned off when not in use.
• "Turn off your computer. Your computer runs at a rate of $0.02 per hour. Leaving your PC on each day for 24 hours per day will cost you $15.00 per month. However, turning it off for 8 hours will save you $100.00 per year."
• Turn off the lights! How simple and easy is that?. If you are leaving a room, turn off the light!

If you use all of these tips, you could save [over] $500 a year!

What tips do you have for cutting your electric bill?

More info can be found at Smartmoney.com and E:How.com