How to Save Electricity in 5 No-Cost Steps

Saving electricity at your home or business sounds like a good idea in theory, but can be a difficult task if you don’t know where to start. Luckily, knowing how to save electricity can be broken down into many different easy, small steps. To help get you started, we’ve compiled a short list of easy, no-cost ways to save electricity and money for your home or business.

Take Shorter Showers & Fix Leaky Faucets

The first way to save electricity is to cut back on your intentional and unintentional water usage.  At home, try to take shorter showers and encourage other family members to do the same. Hot water is expensive, so cutting your shower by just two minutes could save you over $30 per year. Also keep a look out for leaky faucets or other leaking plumbing fixtures. Fixing a leak can save up to $33 per year in energy costs!

Turn Off Unnecessary Lights and Unplug Unused Appliances

Another way to save electricity both at home and in the office is to turn off unnecessary lightning and unplug unused appliances. Use natural lightning if you can because turning off just three 100-watt incandescent t bulbs for an average of two hours per day can save you $18 over the course of a year. Did you know 10% of a household’s annual electricity use is made up of standby power? Standby power accounts for appliances and electronics that are plugged in but not being used. This percentage can be even higher for offices and other places of business, so make sure you unplug!

Skip the Heat-Dry Setting for the Dishwasher

Not only can running full loads of dishes in the dishwasher help by saving water, but skipping a certain feature can multiply the electricity savings even further! The heat-dry setting found on many different dishwashers is an electricity killer! If you go ahead and de-select this setting you can save up to $37 per year if you run one load per day!

Manage Your Thermostat

A building activity that sucks up a good amount of electricity at both homes and offices is heating and cooling. If you have electric heat or air, lower or raise your thermostat by a couple degrees and watch the savings pile up. Lowering your thermostat by two degrees in the winter can save you 5% on your heating bill. Raising the temperature by five degrees in the summer can save you up to 10% on your cooling bill! If forgetting to make these changes is a problem for you, try using a Wi-Fi thermostat at your home or business.

Optimize Your Laundry

The last quick tip for how to save electricity at home is to change the way you do the laundry. Be strategic in your savings by only running full loads of wash and using cold water whenever you can. If you cut out just one load of laundry per week and you’re already using cold water only, you could save up to $30 per year!  Another smart tip for saving energy is to change the way you dry your clothes. Hang drying in the most efficient way to save energy and money, but if that’s not an option for you try throwing a towel into every dryer load. This top works because dry towels significantly reduce drying times. If you’re doing seven loads per week this could save you almost $30 per year as well!

This list is nowhere near a complete guide to saving electricity; it’s just a good place to start! If you have any easy tips for how to save electricity, please leave them in the comments below.