Find an Electrician

Everyone loves to save money when it comes to anything involving their house. Their home is usually their biggest expense. It costs money to heat it, cool it, light it up, and run all those appliances.

Sure, a lot of people have heard about Energy Star appliances but may not know what the real culprit is when it comes to large electricity bills. It's a good idea to take a look at some of the major energy users and abusers in the average household to see where you can save money. According to the Energy Star website, the average home spends $1900 a year on energy costs per year. Whenever you do anything that reduces the amount of energy you use, you can not only cut your electricity bill but you'll even be doing your part to help the environment.

The largest users of electricity in your home are the:

• Air Conditioner and/or Heater
• Hot Water Heater
• Clothes Dryer
• Refrigerator
• Lights

The smaller things in your house, like your stereo and computer and clock radio, do use electricity when they're on but they do not draw as much as these larger appliances. However, some of the smaller things do use electricity even when they're not on. Having a product on "standby" or any product that may have a clock on it will continue to pull power and cost you money.

How to Save Money on Electricity:

• Replace Older Appliances - if you can afford to swap out old fridges or dryers for an Energy Star appliance, it will definitely help lower your monthly bills.
• Replace Regular Light Bulbs - drop in halogen or fluorescent bulbs to cut down dramatically on the amount of wattage being used.
• Cut Down on Use - use light sensors to turn on when you enter a room and off when you leave, hang clothing out to dry instead of always using your dryer, do laundry on cold instead of hot, go with fans and open windows instead of air conditioning, turn off items instead of standing them by,
• Eliminate - get rid of the second refrigerator in the garage or any second appliance that you really don't need

If your city or state offers a decent rebate, you might even consider going solar. Solar is still very expensive to buy and install, which means your "payback" date would be years off, but if you're going to stay in your house a long time and want to "get off the grid", you'll really cut down on nearly all electric bills.

And don't forget about ConstructionDeal.com if you ever need to find a quality electrician. You can upgrade your house and save a lot of money by using a professional for any installations. It will be done right and will help make sure there is no potential fire hazard.

Labels: Electricians, Energy Costs, Saving Money