by OldGuy » 24 Jul 2022, 13:45 Almost every residence uses electricity and that utility bill can be a big headache every month.
Rates vary depending on where you are, but there are things you can do to radically reduce your monthly bill. According to our local provider, the average one bedroom residence in our region is about $150 per month. My average summer monthly bill is about $30 per month not counting savings with a portable solar electric system, but that generally saves me another $5 or $6 per month. Even when I run electric heat during winter months, my year round monthly average is still only around $45 per month.
There are many little things that just eat power even when you are not using them. Those little power lights that just show something is on are vampires that raise your bills for nothing. Look around the house and either unplug them or turn off circuit breakers as needed when not in use.
Look closely at your light bulbs. Most older bulbs are typically 60 to 100 watts. There have been a wide range of bulbs with newer technology that last longer and provide the same lumens for 10 to 15 watts for the past 20 years. There are now light bulbs that provide the same lumens for 1 watt and these newer bulbs last almost forever. Go through and update your lightbulbs. It is a small but shocking change in your monthly bill.
During one of my more generous moods, I purchased and installed motion activated solar lighting in front of every apartment in this complex. Each one is bright enough to light up the whole parking lot and several come on at the same time when there is activity outdoors. That change eliminated the need for porch lights and saved a little for every tenant here.
The hot water tanks are usually set with a thermostat to keep them at a high hot temperature even when not in use. These devices turn on and off at all hours just to keep the water hot. I turn it on and off at the circuit breaker so it only runs 15 minutes each morning. That close monitoring reduces my bill by more than $15 per month and I have never run out of hot water. There are also timer switches available to just install and do all that on and off automatically. The cost of that device will be paid by savings in a single year. I just can't install it in my apartment but if you own your own home, you will be astounded by the savings.
The refrigerator also uses a lot of power and turns on and off by a thermostat all day. I have lined the back of the freezer and refrigerator with ice packs and have found that everything stays perfectly fine if it only runs 6 hours per day but unplugged for the remaining 18 hours per day. I can plug the refrigerator into the solar system for those 6 hours on sunny days. That combined effort saves another $15 per month.
Laundry equipment, stoves, ovens, electric heaters all use the higher 220 volts and most of them consume some power even when not in use. I turn all of them off at the circuit breaker and only turn them on when in use.
I purchased and use a portable solar electric system to run the items I use all the time. It is great on sunny days but not enough for cloudy or stormy weather. Based on my actual monthly savings, it would take nearly 30 years to offset the purchase price so that by itself is not enough to justify the cost. The biggest advantage is just to have an alternate source of electricity if the power goes out. There is no fuel storage or cost and the system can be run indoors. No worries about someone stealing a generator left outside.
Depending on where you live, you might consider installing a whole house solar system that connects to the grid. It is not something you can do in an apartment so it is limited to those who own their own home. The cost is beyond the average Joe's wallet, but here in the US, the government will cover all installation costs, pay you to get it installed and then the electric company pays for any extra energy your system produces that goes back to them for distribution. If eligible, you can eliminate the electric bill altogether and get a monthly check instead of a bill.
Turn things off or unplug as needed when you are not using them. Every little thing you do to reduce usage will reduce your monthly bill.
