Electricity is a valuable resource in the home, especially when you consider the many kitchen appliances and electronic gadgets you and your family need daily. Unfortunately, there can also be issues with your monthly utility bill and wasteful energy consumption. These are defining elements of an unsustainable home that can affect your family’s quality of life.
Fortunately, there are practical steps that your household can take to prevent paying for high electric costs. All you have to do is keep reading to find out!
Use this article as a guide to help you conserve energy and utilize your savings on electricity costs for meeting other household needs! Take this as an opportunity to become more fiscally responsible with your utility bills and champion functionality and sustainability in your home!
As homeowners we like to squeeze the maximum benefit out of our old and aging appliances. We feel that instead of giving them away to Goodwill or disposing them in trash, we can always use an extra refrigerator or microwave in our garage or basement.
Unfortunately, these old appliances, that we quickly forget about, can consume significant energy and drastically increase our bills. Energy standards have vastly improved for appliances over time and older models tend to consume a lot more than the current new models. For instance, according to Energy.gov a 10 year old 25 cubic feet top freezer refrigerator will consume 50% more energy than a current model. A 2010 25 cubic feet refrigerator that you keep in the garage may be costing you a ~$100 extra every year in electricity costs. The graph below compares energy consumption for refrigerators for different year of manufacture.
Figure 1: Annual energy expenditure on a fridge based on its manufacture year. The graphic is based on data from Energystar.gov.
Further older appliances are also a major safety threat. For instance, an outdated toaster oven that does not comply to the latest safety standards may start an electric fire and can damage your kitchen.
As such, check all your household appliances and consider replacing them, especially if you can tell that they are well past their prime. You can also bring your old devices to recycling plants for responsible disposal!
One of the main things that can significantly affect any electrical appliances’ performance is dirt and grime. Your home equipment like air conditioners and fridge have external coils that are used to dissipate heat. The dirt that accumulates on these coils reduces the heat losing ability of the coils thereby making the equipment work harder and also resulting in higher energy costs. Cleaning the condenser coils of your HAVC system is shown to reduce energy consumption by 30%.
While refrigerator coils can be easily cleaned as a DIY project, we recommend hiring an HVAC expert or purchase a HVAC maintenance plan to perform regular maintenance on your AC unit.
In the Texas market, there are thousands of energy plans to choose from at any given time. Energy prices tend to vary throughout the year. By regularly shopping for energy and picking the right plan for their home consumers can save hundreds of dollars in annual energy bills. At WattZero we estimate that together, Texan homes are paying $2.7 billion extra for energy every year. Those who regularly shop for energy can save on average $450 every year.
However, shopping for the right energy plan is tedious and confusing. You need to figure out your annual usage and then compare the usage to different plans, while making sure that you avoid “credit” and “discount” traps and gimmicks like “free energy”. Even after doing all this effort you may still not have access to the cheapest energy plans because most online energy marketplaces promote and show plans where they get the highest commissions. BTW, these commissions are then built into your energy contract and you end up paying those commissions.
By signing up for a service like WattZero you can be at peace that you will never pay extra for energy again. With your permission, WattZero gets access to your usage data from the utility. Then it runs its sophisticated analytics to figure out the energy plan that best fits your home. Our analytics incorporate your preferences such as autopay, your preference for renewable energy in plan selection so that you get the plan that works for you. When your plan is about to expire, we notify you and select a new one based on your latest energy consumption behavior. WattZero can also help you if you are looking to go solar and our free dashboard help you figure out where you can further reduce your energy spend.
WattZero can help ensure that you and your family invest in the right smart energy solutions to maintain your electricity costs within budget.
Managing fiscally responsible electricity spending can be an ordeal, especially when considering your household’s monthly bills. Fortunately, you now have a better understanding of what you and your family can do to conserve energy. Consider all the previously mentioned tips and other alternatives to reduce electricity bill costs!
Maintaining your appliances is a start, but if you truly want to understand and minimize your energy usage, it’s a good idea to consult professionals to see what you can do. Watt Zero is a one-stop-stop for everything you need to be smarter about your energy consumption. Get in touch with us to see how we can help!
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