• About Megan
  • Media
  • Contact
  • Disclosure/Privacy Policy

Good Food and Family Fun

Recipes and Resources for Busy Moms

  • Food
    • Breakfast Recipes
    • Lunch Recipes
    • Dinner Recipes
    • Snack Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Weekly Meal Planner Template
  • Family
    • FREE Baby Stuff Online
    • Summer Fun! Activities, Travel and More!
    • Saving $
      • 52 Week Savings Challenge Printable
    • Fall Cleaning Checklist
  • Fun
    • Thanksgiving
    • Easter
  • Travel
    • Family Travel
    • Hersheypark in Hershey Pa
  • Printables
    • Cleaning Printables
  • Essential Oils
    • Essential Oils
Home » 6 Ways to Lower Electric Bills

6 Ways to Lower Electric Bills

02/17/15 | Project Envolve, Ways to Save

With 5 kids I am always looking for ways to save money and cut my expenses, especially when it comes to my utility bills.  I am always walking around the house turning off lights that the kids have left on and trying to run the appliances at non-peak hours, but I had never really given any thought to what “vampire” devices were doing to my bill–until recently that is!

All of us have items in our home that use electricity 24 hours a day, and some of those are necessary like our refriderators and heating systems etc.  Others are plugged in but are not actually in use all the time and these are what we call “vampire” devices.  That means that they are sucking up energy even when not in use.

For instance, I have a printer on my desk that I often forget to turn off. This printer often resets itself so there have been times when I have actually been woken up from sleeping  by the sound of the printer restarting itself. My husband and I joke that our dog must be printing out stuff in the middle of the night while we are sleeping.  It’s not a laughing matter however, because every time my printer resets it is using electricty and costing me money to run–even when I don’t need or want it to be running.


Follow this 6 Tips for Easy Ways to lower your Electric Bills--small changes can add up to BIG savings!

There are ways that you can cut down on the amount of energy usage from these devices and here are some tips to get you started!

6 Ways to Lower Electric Bills

1. Plug electronics into a power strip and then when not in use you can turn off multiple devices with the flip of a switch.

2. Look into purchasing Energy Star labeled devices–this is especially important when purchasing large appliances like refrigerators, washers and dryers etc.

3. Always turn off game consoles when you are finished using them.

4.If you don’t plan on using your computer for a long period of time the put it into sleep mode–the average household can cut their energy usage from electronics by 60% just by using the sleep mode TIP:  Screen savers don’t actually save energy, your best bet is to actually turn the machine off.

5. Use non-electronic devices when possible, for instance, why use a large, electric food processor when you can do it by hand or use a hand powered food chopper?  It works just as well, with no electric needed and it is easy to clean!

6.Finally, invest in a Solar Powered Charger  .   They charge by using the power of the sun and then you can charge your phone and ipods from it. These are  especially useful to have  during power outages and are great to have in your car when you are traveling in case you break down.

Bonus tip:  Purchase a Electricity Usage Monitor to see how much energy the items in your house are actually using.  I recently decided to try and find out just how much those “vampire” devices are costing me so I pulled out my P3 International Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor and plugged it into my printer for 24 hours.  I then was able to compare the amount of Kilowatts per Hour my printer was using and figure out that it costs me over 30 cents per month just to run it.

Tracking Energy Consumption Saves You Money --FInd out how much those plugged in devices really are costing you!

Now, I realize that it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal since it is only 30 cents BUT that is just one machine, and that one machine costs me over $3 to run each year.  Think about all the machines you leave plugged in all the time that don’t need to be, such as your DVR, your computer, radios, laptops and basically anything controlled by a remote control.  If you have 20 items that cost you $3 a year to run that means you are wasting $60 a year on “vampire” items so it does add up over time.

Making small changes like this can lead to big savings over the course of a year and they don’t take much time at all to make them.  Isn’t it worth the try?

Pintrest Social

Disclosure: I am a Project Envolve Ambassador and received promotional items to write this post.  All opinions are 100% my own.

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

More from my site

  • Huggies Diapers delivered to your door? Yes please!  #sponsored #MCHuggies Diapers delivered to your door? Yes please! #sponsored #MC
  • Christmas in our Hometown and Downtown Scranton Tree Lighting CeremonyChristmas in our Hometown and Downtown Scranton Tree Lighting Ceremony
  • Recipe: Homemade Chicken Noodle SoupRecipe: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
  • Giving Back to the CommunityGiving Back to the Community
  • Time to Earn Gymbucks at Gymboree’s Big Sale!!Time to Earn Gymbucks at Gymboree’s Big Sale!!
  • Great Split Rock Resort and  H2Ooooh Water Park Tickets deal!Great Split Rock Resort and H2Ooooh Water Park Tickets deal!

Comments | 21 comments

« Win 4 tickets to the Harlem Globetrotters!
Banana Bread from Scratch Recipe »

Comments

  1. gentlejoy8@gmail.com'Gentle Joy says

    February 18, 2015 at 10:29 am

    Good ideas… it is something to watch… we carelessly use electricity and don’t even realize that we are just wasting it. Thank you.

    Reply
  2. homemakersjourney@gmail.com'Suzie@homemaker-mom says

    February 18, 2015 at 5:25 pm

    These are great tips! I should remember to do this more! love it. Found you via the Homemaking Party today!

    Reply
  3. info@SoDomesticallyChallenged.com'Christine from So Domestically Challenged says

    February 19, 2015 at 9:58 am

    What great ideas. I’m so interested in the monitor! I’ve thought about getting one for years, but never made the jump.

    Reply
  4. gakeman75@yahoo.com'Gail Akeman says

    February 19, 2015 at 1:19 pm

    Good ideas. I just unplugged my printer.

    Reply
  5. thediaryofarealhousewife@gmail.com'Jennie @ The Diary of a Real Housewife says

    February 19, 2015 at 9:17 pm

    Wonderful ideas!!
    I would love if you would share on my Friday Favorites linkup!

    Reply
  6. mix.williams@sbcglobal.net'Debbie W. says

    February 21, 2015 at 8:10 am

    That printer story is so true. Mine was printing stuff I didn’t tell it too – recipes – I would walk in there and find something I did not want wasting ink and energy. Thanks for sharing. I reprogrammed it to take away the recipes and turn it off now.

    Reply
  7. homematters1st@yahoo.com'Cynthia L says

    February 21, 2015 at 4:27 pm

    Such great tips. With the cold winter, our bills have been crazy! Thanks so much for linking to the This Is How We Roll Thursday link party! I can’t wait to see what you share next week!

    Reply
  8. mayfield.bm123@gmail.com'Brittany M. says

    February 21, 2015 at 10:31 pm

    These are great tips! Our electric bill is always astronomical I the summer, since we live in the south, so just saving a few bucks here and there really makes a difference! Thanks for sharing, stopping by from #shinebloghop

    Reply
  9. heatherlm4@gmail.com'Heather M says

    February 27, 2015 at 7:26 pm

    I just started flipping off one of our power strips every night to help me remember not to leave things sucking energy all night. Great post.

    Reply
  10. agrandelife@gmail.com'Steph says

    March 1, 2015 at 1:42 pm

    I really need to do more things on this list! I am so bad about keeping lights on all day!

    Reply
  11. jsalabsky@gmail.com'Jennifer at Making Our Life Matter says

    March 1, 2015 at 8:25 pm

    These are some really great tips! I am cringing thinking about how much energy was wasted this winter because we have been stuck inside and always plugged in.

    Reply
  12. itsakeeperblog@gmail.com'Christina @ It Is a Keeper says

    March 1, 2015 at 9:43 pm

    These are all great ideas and so easy to do too!

    Reply
  13. toots.dill@gmail.com'Melanie | Toots + Dill says

    April 13, 2016 at 10:52 am

    My husband has this issue where he shuts off the game console but I can’t understand why he doesn’t shut off the TV. So the TV is on there is black static and he just leaves it on and claims he forgets to shut off the TV. He also does not shut off lights when he leaves an area or a room. It drives me nuts! The months were I follow him around and shut off things I’ve noticed a big difference in my bill!! =P

    Reply
    • mgalko says

      April 13, 2016 at 11:21 am

      Yes, little things like that can really affect your bill. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  14. satrntgr@hotmail.com'Jamie says

    April 18, 2016 at 1:17 pm

    Great tips!! It’s always great to save money! 🙂 Thank you for sharing with us at the #HomeMattersParty

    Reply
  15. minimalme@bellsouth.net'Shelley says

    April 19, 2016 at 1:22 pm

    Thanks for the tips! Loved the image I got of your dog printing in the middle of the night…our printer does that too! I’m glad to hear that there are solar-powered charges and will have to give these a try 🙂

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Kill-A-Watt Energy Consumption Monitor Giveaway - Giveaway Promote says:
    February 19, 2014 at 2:01 pm

    […] Ending on: 02/24/2014 Open to: United States Enter this Giveaway at NEPA MOM […]

    Reply
  2. Coffee and Conversation Link Party #30 - says:
    February 25, 2015 at 8:19 am

    […] 6 Ways to Lower Electric Bills from Nepa Mom – Megan shares some common-sense, easy-to-implement ideas to save money on your […]

    Reply
  3. Thrifty Thursday Link Party #38 says:
    February 26, 2015 at 8:02 am

    […] 1. Six Indoor Activities for Kids 2. 3 Lies Debtors Like to Tell 3. How to Declutter Your Home the Easy Way 4. How to Save at the Grocery Story when Meal Planning 5. What to Give Up for Lent 6. Six Ways to Lower Electric Bills […]

    Reply
  4. Monday Madness Link Party {April 18th} says:
    April 17, 2016 at 8:01 pm

    […] (Nepa Mom) […]

    Reply
  5. April 23rd: Saturday Sharefest - The SITS Girls says:
    April 23, 2016 at 3:01 am

    […] Nepa Mom.com: 6 Ways to Lower Electric Bills […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Food Advertising by logo

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Welcome

Hi I’m Megan, thanks for stopping by! Good Food and Family Fun is a trusted online destination for busy moms and dads looking for the very best in family friendly recipes, product reviews, travel tips and more.

Feel free to email me at megangalko@gmail.com! Read More…

Food Advertising by logo

https://www.nepamom.com/hershey-park-in-hershey-pa/

Food Advertising by logo

About Megan

Hi I’m Megan, thanks for stopping by! Good Food and Family Fun is a trusted online destination for busy moms and dads looking for the very best in family friendly recipes, product reviews, travel tips and more. Want to connect? Email me at megangalko@gmail.com, thanks! Read More…

Follow on Instagram

goodfoodandfamilyfun

You just never know who you will find at @hersheyp You just never know who you will find at @hersheypark ! #hersheyparkhappy
Beautiful view to wake up to this morning! Beautiful view to wake up to this morning!
My daughter Sophia with Olympian @caelebdressel on My daughter Sophia with Olympian @caelebdressel on the swim clinic bus!!
Need an easy #easter or busy weeknight #sidedish ? Need an easy #easter or busy weeknight #sidedish ?  This Easy Balsamic Vegetable recipe is just what you are looking for!  Easy to make and tastes great, your whole family will love it!
Get the #recipe #ontheblog  today! #ad #frozenfoodmonth
Christmas morning will be here in just a few days. Christmas morning will be here in just a few days...eek!! Are you ready?  Be prepared for anything and get this basket together NOW and stash it under your tree...scissors? Check. Screwdriver? Check! Garbage bag? check!  @energizer batteries? Check! 
Get all my Tips to Make Christmas Morning less Stressful and make sure that you can relax and enjoy the moment! #ad 
https://www.nepamom.com/tips-to-make-christmas-morning-less-stressful/

#stillgoing #energizerbunny #christmas2017 #christmasmornings #christmasmorning #stressfree
Love homemade whipped cream! So yummy and easy to Love homemade whipped cream!  So yummy and easy to make!!
Did you get your ticket yet? The Boost Your Influ Did you get your ticket yet?  The Boost Your Influence Summit will be held on October 21 in Hershey Pa.  check out the website for room rate details, speakers and more! #byisummit #blogconference #bloggerswanted
Sightseeing in #Boston makes little legs tired! # Sightseeing in #Boston makes little legs tired! 
#familytravel #travelblogger #instatravel#bostonusa
Riding the Old Town Trolley today in #Boston! gett Riding the Old Town Trolley today in #Boston! getting ready for learning and fun!
#familytravel #travelingfun #Hosted
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2021 · Tasteful theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2021 · Tasteful Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in