eLightBulbs Lighting Blog > How can I reduce my energy bill?

The cost of various forms of energy is always increasing, and the importance of the question "How can I reduce my energy bill?" increases at the same time.  There are two very easy "do it yourself" ways to reduce your energy bill that I will cover in this blog.  The first is one of my most common subjects; light bulbs!

Old and inefficient incandescent light bulbs are a big waste of energy to which we've grown so accustomed that we don't even notice the cost.  Energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs are the current most cost-effective solution to reduce your energy bill.  Considering that CFLs around 25 to 27 watts emit the same amount of light as a 100 watt incandescent light bulb, you can expect the portion of your energy bill devoted to lighting to decrease by nearly 75% if you replace all your incandescents with compact fluorescent light bulbs!

Light bulbs are the first (and probably the easiest) way to reduce your energy bill.  The second is twofold; heating and cooling.  During the winter and summer months, heating and cooling is a significant expense.  The good thing is it's simple to cut down on this part of an energy bill, and I'll explain why.  What we generally do not consider is just how much energy we waste in our homes when we're not even there!  There is no need for a house to be at a comfortable temperature if there are no humans there to enjoy it.

 

Reduce your energy bill in the summer by using less AC when you leave for work!  Whether you like the house crisp and cold around 69-70 degrees F or if you like it a bit warmer, you should turn the thermostat up to around 80 degrees F if you're not going to be home for a while.  It's unlikely a house would even reach that temperature, but even if it did you'd be using far less AC.  Winter is the same but flipped around; if you're leaving the house for hours, turn down the heat!  Leaving the thermostat around 62 to 65 degrees F will prevent pipes from freezing and other similar situations while saving you a lot of money on your energy bill.  Keep all air filters clean and regularly updated as well to ensure energy efficient operation of your heating and cooling.

 

These are just two simple answers to the question "How can I reduce my energy bill?"  There are more, of course, and I will post them in the future!