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In order to save on your electricity bill, you have to know when the electric rates are the lowest. That way you can shift the bulk of your energy use to those hours. Here’s the answer.
When it comes to having your own house, aside from the usual responsibility of taking care of its physical structure, electricity is another concern. It’s considered the primary utility that every homeowner needs to handle and the water supply.
It starts how the electrical connection is installed to what energy company you will get as the supplier. All of these matters for you to have the right supply of energy consumption. And when you’re already settled on that aspect, one last thing you need to manage is saving on your electricity bills. And this is still left as one of the most challenging parts of owning a house.
Though there are already available techniques to cut down and save on your electricity bills, it’s imperative to understand other factors that will help you better understand saving your electricity bills.
Table of Contents
Understanding Off and On-Peak Hours
You might have already heard the terms “off-peak” and “on-peak or peak” hours from many energy suppliers. However, how well do you know about it?
These terms are being used by many energy suppliers to determine when is the lowest and the highest demand for energy supply in a day. In your monthly electric bill, it is indicated in the Time of Use Pricing or also known as TOU Pricing.
Others would like to call this classification as peak demand. This means, at a specific time of the day, many consumers either tend to use more electricity or less. In layman’s terms, off-peak means it’s the day when fewer consumers use electricity; thus, there’s low demand and low and affordable charges. While with peak hours, every household runs and uses electricity more; therefore, energy suppliers and companies charge high.
It’s very straightforward that you can save and cut down on your electricity bill by managing when you’re going to use more energy with the peak demand specifics provided by your supplier.
However, every energy company and state you belong to have a difference Time of Use Pricing, but the thumb rule stands still. There’s less consumption at night, which means that most energy suppliers demand low charges when consumers use electricity at night to do some chores.
If you have already followed and understood your current energy supplier’s peak demand charges, yet you still have questions about why your electric bills are still expensive, maybe it’s about time to change your energy supplier. Maybe it’s not all about the peak demand charges you’re worried about but the entire electricity rate they offer that’s hurting your budget.
You can quickly fix this by looking for other energy suppliers out there and check out their current tariffs. Compare electricity rates from one supplier to another. This way, you have a better view of how much you’re going to save from changing your energy supplier, or are you getting a lesser price with a better service.
Switching from one energy supplier to another is easy and can be done in no time. So don’t get worked up so much if ever you’ll lose energy during the switching stage.
Saving Techniques You Can Do
Now that you already know what is off-peak and peak when it comes to energy demand. Also, you know that you can switch from one supplier to another to have better savings. This is the time for you to work out on things that can help you efficiently and effectively save on your monthly electric bills.
Use your washing machine at night and during weekends.
If you’re living alone or living with your family, suggest using the washing machine during weekends or at night if you have loads of laundry. Nighttime usually has the lowest energy demand since there are fewer users who utilize the energy supply. Some areas even get their electricity for free if they can only use it at night or on weekends. Some energy suppliers offer that service depending on where you live.
Choose energy-efficient appliances.
The market has already offered a lot of energy-efficient appliances. They are now labeled with ENERGY STAR certification, proving that they consume less energy than other appliances. The best appliances that you need to purchase with an ENERGY STAR certification are refrigerators since they are plugged throughout the day. Dishwashers and washing machines as well, as they operate longer than the other appliances.
Use an advanced power strip and unplug your appliances at once.
Many homeowners expect that when our appliances are being turned off, they are already saving energy supply for that matter. Yet, little do we know that they slowly suck and use energy even when they are on standby mode. This is known as “vampire loads.”
So to avoid this, have your appliances and other electronic devices connected to an advanced power strip. Whenever you need to leave the house, there’s only one connection that you need to unplug to make sure that all your appliances are not consuming extra energy when not in use.
During summer, use natural lighting.
When there’s an abundant supply of natural light during the day, utilize it and turn off that light bulb in your kitchen or living area. It would also be helpful if you design your house that is inviting and conducive for natural light to come in. This is very helpful in cutting down your electricity cost.
Go solar!
Many advocates promote the usage of solar energy in many households. But since they are expensive, many homeowners tend to dismiss the idea or have it installed later. Not knowing how much they can save in solar energy in the long run. If large panels are expensive, you can opt-in for a smaller one. Good enough to charge your phone and other electronic devices without using your electricity. Small steps in cutting down your monthly bill expenses.
The Takeaway
Saving your electricity bill remains one of the most challenging parts of owning a house or even living in a room unit. There’s a lot of things you need to consider, just like making sure that your current energy supplier gives you the best rates that work on your budget.
But aside from that, buying and using appliances also significantly impact cutting down your electricity bill. Solar energy utilization is best recommended, though it’s expensive, your savings are worth it in the long run. There’s a lot of ways to save on your energy; you just need to be diligent in looking for ways and be mindful of your usage.
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