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17 Ways to Save Electricity (And Money Too!)

Perhaps you are worried about your carbon footprint, or maybe you are switching over to solar panels and need to reduce your household electricity useage first.  Maybe you need to reduce that electric bill and save up some money to buy some backyard chickens!  Whatever the reason you need to save electricity here are 17 ideas to get you started.

17 Ideas to Help Save Electricity Around Your Home

Need to save some money? Getting solar panels? Reducing your carbon footprint? Here are 17 ways to save electricity that you can do today.

Hang out laundry

Using an electric dryer is a huge drain on your electricity.  I’ve saved over $30 on my electric bill just by using a clothesline.  Even if you don’t have a clothesline out back you can still air dry your clothes.  Sometimes you even get to be creative like when it’s the middle of winter and rainy.  Hanging your clothes out does take a little more time than throwing them in and pushing a button, but it also has the potential to save a lot of power.

Downsize your fridge

Going fridge free is not a good choice for everyone, but maybe downsizing your fridge is a better choice.  The less space you need temperature controlled, the less electricity it will take to do the job.  Maybe by simply changing your cooking or shopping habits you can change your carbon footprint too.

Keep your freezers full

If you just bought a new fridge and freezer set it only comes in size mammoth don’t despair!  Simply keeping it full will decrease the amount of electricity needed to keep your cold stuff cold.  You can even stick a few jugs of water in to help with mass if it’s getting close to grocery day.

Turn off lights

This is one of the easiest changes you can make to save electricity.  Leaving a room?  Flip the switch in your way out.  Just make sure you are the only one in there.  I’ve been known to accidentally turn off the bathroom light while my husband is in the shower.  Oops!

Wash laundry in cold water

Your water heater takes a lot of energy to heat up your water and keep it hot for you.  One simple change you can make is to wash all your laundry in cold water.  Unless you are washing cloth diapers or something REALLY nasty, cold water will get them clean just fine.

Wash yourself with cold water

Turn down the heat on the shower if you can stand it, or even just washing your hands in cold water instead of running the sink until the water is warm can help save electricity (and water too!)  Heat dissipates more quickly from your pipes than from your hot water tank.

Remove chargers from outlets to reduce phantom draw

Did you know that leaving your phone and tablet chargers plugged into the wall is costing you money?  When you unplug your phone, pull the charger out of the wall.  It’s really silly to pay for something you’re not even using and it takes just a few extra seconds of your time.

Plug computers and entertainment centers into power strips and turn them off when you aren’t using them

Once again, why pay for something you’re not even using?  Hit a button, save money, whoot whoot.

Heat with wood, or passive solar heating

We LOVE our wood burning stove around here.  Not only can you save money on your heating bill, decrease your carbon footprint, but you can also forage your fire wood.  Plus it’s fun to watch.  We like to call it our caveman TV, because staring at the flames can be so mesmerizing.

Turn the thermostat down and wear a sweater

Maybe heating with wood is just not possible for your situation, that’s okay, you can save money on your heating bill too!  Turn your thermostat down a few degrees and put on a comfy warm sweater.  (You could turn it completely off, but that might be a little TOO chilly!).  Cozy up with a blanket and a book and maybe some hot chocolate, and get your fill of cool winter days before the heat of summer comes around again.

Plant a tree that will shade your house in the summer

Speaking of summer, if you run an AC, consider planting trees on the south and western sides of your house.  The shade will help it stay cooler.  Bonus points if they are fruit or nut producing trees too!

Use solar chargers and solar lights

Maybe you can’t afford to completely switch to solar, but using solar chargers for your devices, or solar lights in your garden are small ways to take advantage of the sun.

Hand wash dishes

Like line drying, this option will take a little more time than running a machine.  But sometimes taking it slow is good.  Instead of listening to a rackety dishwasher, take some time to fill up the sink, enjoy the bubbles, and meditate while being productive.

Cook multiple things in your oven at one time

Baking bread?  Throw some squash in there too!  Dinner’s cooking?  Why not take advantage of it’s warmth and start some jerky?  Fill it up and get more done all at the same time!

Put lids on pots while cooking

This is another easy peasy trick.  The lid holds the heat in, helping your pot heat up faster and ultimately saves you time and money.  Booyah.

Go old fashioned, buy hand crank things like ice cream makers and vegetable peelers, or other tools

Exercise AND energy savings all at the same time.  Very nice.  Here’s my favorite ice cream maker as an example.

Turn the lights off at sunset and use candles

Using candles or oil lamps can be very picturesque.  Also, the dimmer light helps encourage your body to produce melatonin, which can help you get more sleep.  I know I sure love more sleep!

What’s your favorite way to save electricity?  Share it in the comments below!

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Rishi Mulukh

Thursday 27th of August 2020

Very informative article! This will definitely help everyone to save energy and money. One more tip, I would like to add to your list is installing a power monitor device at home and commercial places. This helps to monitor the electricity consumption of all appliances in real-time and also help to reduce approximately 30% on electricity bills every month.

Kathryn

Friday 28th of August 2020

Thanks for the tip!

Ways to save electricity at home

Thursday 21st of February 2019

This website is awesome. This helped me with saving energy in your home office it was very informative. You have mentioned totally helpful tips on how to lower your electricity bill & save money too. Thank you for creating this article. It is awesome!

Kathryn

Thursday 28th of February 2019

Thanks for sharing.

charlotte

Friday 16th of December 2016

I follow most of these at home! We don't own a dishwasher and we use the grey water from the sink for the garden (lots of studies show this is really great for gardens as long as you use all natural soap). I find hand washing very relaxing and we make our own soap so it's nice for my hands too :)

Lina

Friday 8th of April 2022

@charlotte, do you have a recipe you could share for soap?

Kathryn @ Farming My Backyard

Friday 16th of December 2016

That's awesome. I'm not a fan of handwashing, but I bet the soap is lovely.

Anne lynch

Sunday 10th of January 2016

I use a wooden wall mounted clothes rack to dry my wash in the winter. It is mounted high on the wall near the wood stove. I got it from the Vermont Country Store catalog. Happy $$$ saving. Anne L.

Kathryn @ Farming My Backyard

Monday 11th of January 2016

Nice! Sometimes I'll set up a load to dry on a rack in front of our wood stove before bed. It can sometimes dry as fast as the dryer.

Kathy Rogers

Saturday 5th of September 2015

I think this list is great and I already apply a number of these. But I do have to disagree with you regards washing dishes by hand. Please see the following site for more info. https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=dishwash.pr_handwash_dishwash

Also washing your car at home takes much more water than using a car wash. But since you live in rainy Portland, you don't need to worry about it much. We're in SE Washington state.

Thank you for all the effort you put in and the knowledge you share with us.

Kathryn @ Farming My Backyard

Sunday 6th of September 2015

The studies I had seen that looked at water use in hand washing versus using a dishwasher all used the most energy efficient doshwashers. I wish I had one! I'm pretty sure frugal handwashers can still outperform many older dishwashers. Someday I'm sure that won't be the case anymore, but I don't think it's here yet.

Great point about car washing. There are definitely some water conserving car washes out there.

Thanks for sharing with us!

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