Want to lower your electric bill in a sustainable, environmentally friendly manner? We’ve got you covered with several green ways to lowering your electric bill.

9 Green Ways to Lowering Your Electric Bill

Electric and gas bills are increasing every single day. Even though you always remember to turn off the lights when not using, closing the fridge after getting your food, and turning off the AC or heater when not in use, it’s a puzzle why your bill is still big.

The Energy Information Administration stated that, on average, American households spend $112 on electric bills alone.

This prompts people to find ways to minimize electric bill costs, which eventually leads to going green and saving the environment.

Eco-Friendly Ways to Lower Your Electricity Bill

Here is a compilation of green ways to lowering your electric bill.

Clean up

Regularly clean or replace your air filters. Dirty air filters make your heater and cooling systems work twice as hard, which doubles your electric bill. Dirty air filters also decrease the efficiency of your heaters and coolers.

If you have disposable air filters, it is recommended to replace them once every three months.

A greener alternative would be using washable air filters. Although they are more expensive than disposable ones when purchasing for the first time, you will still have a good use out of it, considering that you only have to wash them and not throw them away. And it’s reusable, plus points for going green!

Do not forget to clean your refrigerator. Pet hair, dust, and trash tend to accumulate around the condenser coil of your refrigerator. And when this happens, your fridge tends to be less efficient, which charges more energy to work.

Vacuuming or dusting your refrigerator will help in reducing your electric bills.

Check Your HVAC regularly

Your Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system is vital to your household. This system keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

However, if you do not have your system checked regularly, then your system can be using more electricity than what your system should be using. Or worse, your system could completely shut down if not maintained properly.

As mentioned above, clean or replace air filters when needed. Cleaning clogged coils will reduce the risk of your system overheating.

Assess the thermostat. If it is faulty, then repair it immediately to reduce energy consumption. Also, check for leaks and drips. Because if these leaks and drips are not repaired, it will compromise the performance of your system, leading to more use of unnecessary electricity.

Every system needs upkeep to maintain its performance. Even the most expensive system needs maintenance. Your HVAC system not only requires a change of air filters. There are also instances of external fans and cooling lines breaking, cracking, or freezing.

That’s why it’s essential to have regular check-ups and maintenance for your HVAC system.

Have a professional check your HVAC system. Regular inspections can reduce long-term damages and repairs for your system. Always remember that routine maintenance of the HVAC system will increase its efficiency.

Prepare for season changes

Concerning HVAC systems, it is also essential to prepare your HVAC system for season changes, like summer, spring, autumn, and winter season. If your system is not adequately winterized or adapted, then your system can shut down at the time that you most need it.

Have a programmable thermostat to regulate the air current and temperature throughout the year. This device will give you reasonable comfort when temperatures and seasons change. Smart thermostats are great alternatives to manual control.

This type of thermostat will factor in weather and real temperature anywhere in the room to adjust the temperature accurately to what heat is needed.

And since this device reacts to actual temperatures, the system will automatically turn off and on, depending on the cooling and heating needs of the room.

Adjusting the air temperature using automatic thermostats will save you at least 10% on electricity.

Aside from your HVAC system, it’s also vital to prepare your windows and doors for season changes. In preparation for the colder season, seal your windows and your doors to trap out the cold breeze, which can affect the adjustment on your HVAC system.

Glaze your windows or replace the weather stripping of your window.

In preparation for hotter weather, clean up your windows from dust and dirt to let in air.

The dust and dirt accumulated around your windows and doors can trap out cool breeze coming from outside, which makes your HVAC system blast off to a temperature that is way beyond the heat that your room needs.

See Related: A Definitive Guide to Building Energy Management Systems

Replace light bulbs

Regular light bulbs, no matter how small in size, can cost a lot in consuming electricity. Once your bulbs burn out, replace them with compact fluorescent lights or LED lights.

These lights have almost the same dim and bright as incandescent lights but are lower in voltage consumption. LED bulbs can even go as little as 3 watts!

Even though LED bulbs are considerably more expensive than standard incandescent bulbs, these lights do not burn quickly, meaning they can even last up to 20 times as incandescent bulbs.

Also, they consume 50-80% less energy than incandescent bulbs. LED lamps are small investments that can last you a long time, and you will help the environment too!

See Related: Current Flow Overview – How Electricity Works

Be smart with your laundry

People do laundry at least once a week. People don’t realize this, but doing your laundry can affect the environment significantly. The environmental impact of your clothing is mainly because of the washing and drying that uses electricity.

By being smart with your laundry, you will reduce your carbon footprint, plus you’ll save money as well.

Skip top-loading washing machines because chances are, these old machines use up more energy than new machines. Purchase energy-saving washing machines and dryers to save on your electricity bills.

Invest in eco-friendly washing machines and your electricity bills will surely be lesser.

Wash using cold water.

A significant percentage of your electricity bills come from heating your water, even if you do not need any heating for the water. About 90% of the energy used in washing clothes goes to heating water. Do not worry, many detergents are suitable for cold water and still whiten your white clothes.

Another smart and efficient way of doing your laundry is to wash in bigger loads. The right way of using less energy is to do bulk loads of laundry, meaning in one load, wash as many clothes as what can fit in your washer.

After washing, you can skip using the dryer. It would also be efficient if you air-dry your clothes, especially during the spring and summertime when there is a considerable amount of sun available.

There are more than 88 million dryers in the USA alone that leave carbon footprint per usage. Only use the dryer if you need the clothes ASAP.

The last thing about doing laundry is ironing clothes. Don’t iron the clothes if you don’t need to, like the clothes you use around the house or when sleeping.

It’s also good to have clothes that are not wrinkle-prone.

See Related: Best Greywater Systems for Your Home

Consider solar energy

Using solar panels as a source of energy can be scary to think about. Many homeowners are wary of using solar energy because of the upfront expenses in installing solar panels and connecting it with your energy supplier.

Using solar panels instead of only relying on your electricity suppliers will not only lessen your bills but also save you money by almost 50% for electric bills.

You don’t have to eliminate your usage of electricity provided by your energy supplier.

Almost half of your electricity will be from the sun, except during cold climates and thunderstorms. And if this happens, then you can always have the power from your supplier as your backup.

Energy from the sun is free, so the only thing you have to pay for is the energy you use when there is no sunlight.

If you’re not ready to use solar panels, you can use it for miscellaneous things, like small lights around your house, in your garden, and your porch.

Instead of increasing your electricity bill in lighting up your garden at night, you can replace them with solar garden lights that can be found almost anywhere.

Your garden will look beautiful, plus you get to save the planet too!

See Related: Should You Buy or Lease Solar Panels?

Be smart with your appliances

The most common tip in saving energy is to turn off and unplug any appliances that are not used. But, a more expensive tip of saving energy is to upgrade your devices into energy-saving ones. Instead of using centralized air conditioning, you can switch into split type air conditioning.

Also, adjust the thermostat of your refrigerator regularly. In the morning, the temperature should be between 34-40 degrees Fahrenheit. In the winter, the temperature should be between 0-5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Instead of using the automatic defrost feature of the refrigerator, manually defrost it to lessen energy usage. Also, regularly clean the coils at the back or bottom of the fridge to maintain efficiency. And lastly, do not place the refrigerator near hot surfaces like stove or heat vents.

Water heaters also have to be adjusted. The ideal temperature is 120 degrees Fahrenheit rather than the usual 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Adjusting the temperature can lessen up to 40% of energy consumption every year.

See Related: Renewable Energy & Green Living Dictionary

Promote better airflow inside your home

It is essential to trap good air inside your home. You don’t want your living area to be cool but the kitchen to be hot, that’s why you should have good airflow.

When it is hot, you should be able to push the air upwards, and when it’s cold, the air should be pushed downwards. Having electric fans in your home will help you achieve that.

Installing ceiling fans will help circulate the air in your home so that the air conditioner does not need to work twice as hard.

Having an attic fan during the summertime will also help push out the hot air to help cool down the home.

If you have central air conditioning in your home, check your vents because they may be blocked. If your vents are closed, the air will not flow freely inside your home and will make it hot in the summertime.

If the vents are no longer blocked, then the air conditioning will not struggle in cooling your home.

See Related: What is Sustainability?

Look for a supplier to start lowering your electric bill

Your current energy supplier may be one of the reasons why your electricity bill is expensive. Maybe it’s time you switch energy suppliers.

Traditional energy suppliers rely on non-renewable resources to produce electricity that contributes to the climate change that you are experiencing right now.

You can switch energy suppliers by looking for ones who advocate saving the environment. But when it comes to starting the process of changing the supplier, people tend to be apprehensive at first because they think that it is complicated.

First, look at the average expenses you pay on electricity every month. If you know your monthly electric bill, you will have a vision of how much you can save when you inquire about other electric suppliers.

The second thing you should do is shop around for potential energy suppliers, look for best deals and packages, and compare prices within your location using websites such as

Maryland electricity price comparison. If you found the perfect supplier for you, then make the switch.

In making the switch, all you have to do is call your new energy supplier and tell them the necessary information needed. They will arrange everything for you, and you won’t even feel any change because there will be no power interruption when you make the switch.

Changing your energy supplier is easy, and by doing so, you will save a lot of money and save the environment at the same time.

Conclusion on Lowering Your Electric Bill

The nine ways of lowering electric bills mentioned above are easier said than done. You might feel a bit of inconvenience as you start doing them, but in the long run, you will realize how efficient and sustainable these ways are in lowering your electric bill.

Are you ready to start lowering your electric bill? Let us know in the comments below.

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Author Bio

Ella Baker is a freelance writer who writes about home improvement and money management. She specializes in eco-friendly home improvements. She writes for various home improvement and money management websites. When she’s not writing, she likes to read books in libraries and bookstores.