15 ways to dent your energy bills this summer

I don’t even know where I’ve stocked away my sunscreen, but I feel like I need to. There are shirtless dudes running around the neighborhood. Every park looks like it’s hosting a rock concert, every pool like it has a no-age bar swim meet. Suddenly there are kids everywhere everyday, guess they must be on holidays or something. Yeah, summer is here for sure.

I am sure you’ve got flights booked, camping gear setup, pool towels ready to go. But before you jet away, summer will whiz past and we got 4 months of saving ideas we want to run by you. No I am not going to suggest you to stop drinking Starbucks, but hear me out?

We often don’t realize the electricity bills that rack up now and add some inflation in the mix, your pool party is going feel to feel a little sour when it’s over.

Now there are hundreds of things you could do to save more, and no.. setting up makeshifts air conditioners is also probably not a great idea.

But here are 14 actionable things we will talk about today. Some of these are low hanging fruits costs wise, some are in the medium cost range, while others are the big fat changes you would need to make. I hope these don’t sound like atrocities rental slumlords impose on their tenants, but no need to kill the messenger. Just trash the points you don’t like.

Alright so Type A: Easy peasy, lemon squeezy stuff

1. The simplest thing you could do is increase your thermostat temperature. The lower your temperature on your AC setting is in summer, the harder your AC is going to run. A.C consumes a LOT of power (2500-3000W) in the summer. According to data from US Department of energy, for every degree you increase your temperature in summer, you might save up to 3% on your cooling costs.

2. Check and replace your AC filter regularly. A clogged AC filter can block the airflow, increasing power consumption. Checking on it every couple months is a good idea.

3. Whenever you can, use fans instead of air conditioning. Fans circulate cool air and can reduce the arduous requirements of using energy from an A.C when you don’t need to.

4. A lot of people change the water heater setting to high in winter months, but you might want to reset that to a lower setting in the summer.

5. You could try to unplug electronics which are not in use. Some of them might be consuming electricity even when you aren’t using them. Over time, these electricity costs definitely add up and could easily set you well over $100 annually.

6. Air-dry your clothes if you can. Air-drying is a great way to cut electricity bills and is also good for your clothes. All you would need is a drying rack.

7. Check your house for air leaks. Leaks can let hot air enter the house and make your air-conditioner consume more energy, which will raise your bills.

8. If you prefer, you could go for meals that require less use of the electric/gas stove. Cold wraps/ sandwiches and salads aren’t a bad option in the summer. All of these could reduce energy usage from the cooktop a couple days a week.

9. You could also do backyard/ outdoor grill when you want to move some of the energy requirements away from the cooktop in summer.

10. Call your electric utility provider and enroll for a dynamic pricing plan if they have one available. A dynamic pricing plan is an option where they have different electricity rates for different times of the day. Off-Peak is the lowest rate and offers you the most time for managing your energy use for savings opportunities on Dynamic Peak Pricing. On-Peak coincides with the time on weekdays when the electricity grid experiences the heaviest traffic. You can avoid the higher rates by moving some of your energy usage away from your mornings, nights, and weekends to lower overall strain on the grid and get off-peak pricing. For example, you can run high power consumption devices like washer/dryers, dishwashers and electric vehicle charging during off-peak times.

Type B: Medium spending measures

11. Consider replacing your old incandescent bulbs to LED bulbs. LED light bulbs use as little as 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs. They will cost you more initially ($100-200 for the entire house), but they pay themselves off over the years by reducing your power consumption. Incandescent bulbs also get very hot and emit their heat across the house which acts as downside during summer.

12. Install a smart thermostat. This can help you create a schedule to run your air-conditioner during off-peak times. Smart thermostats also save a lot of energy by learning your schedule and optimizing power consumption automatically.

Type C: High-moolah measures - the big boy stuff you can do

13. Consider installing heat reflective windows for your house like double pane or even triple pane windows. The average cost may vary but it can be around $900 for doing a double pane and $1200 for triple pane. This is a very expensive project but worth considering, especially if you are building a new house or have old inefficient windows as you will save significantly over the years.

14. Upgrade to a heat pump. The average cost can be anywhere between $4000-10000$ depending on the capacity and type of the heat pump, climate, and other factors. A heat pump is a device that transfers heat from one place to another. It can be used to heat or cool your home, depending on the season. In the winter, the heat pump absorbs heat from the outside air and transfers it to the inside of your home. This makes your home warmer without using any additional energy. In the summer, the heat pump absorbs heat from the inside of your home and transfers it to the outside air. This makes your home cooler without using any additional energy.

15. If you are still using some old appliances (made in the 90s or early 2000s), consider switching to newer more energy efficient models. This could include upgrading your washer/ dryer units, dishwasher, and refrigerator models.

    Some of these could actually have a massive impact on your bills in the summer. Now that I’ve held you back long enough I am starting to think about what a certain John Mayer was saying

    “A little bit of summer is what the whole year is all about”.