7 Steps to Saving Lots of Money on Electricity

What follows is what I did to cut my electric bills almost in half. Bear in mind I have a gas water heater and gas furnace during the winter, but still have a tremendous amount of electrical stuff in my house, just like everyone else.

First - If you can afford it, get double paned insulated windows for your home. You would not believe how much energy this saves and also how much DUST it keeps out of the house. If you cant afford new windows, CAULK ALL AROUND THE OLD ONES WITH NEW CAULK. Check for loose panes and if you find any, caulk or seal those back into place too.

Another option, if you know how to do window screens (it's actually really simple) is to purchase the dark nylon "Solar Screen" and re-screen your windows. This blocks a great deal of heat generating sunlight and still lets you see outside.

Second - CEILING FANS!!! They don't have to be expensive fancy looking fans. But a cieling fan in every room, running, takes less electricity than the air conditioner to run and keeps the A/C from running as often, thereby paying for themselves in energy savings. There are even fans small enough to put into bathrooms and kitchens now.

Third - Change that A/C filter on a central A/C system EVERY TWO WEEKS. Treat it like a religion. The more dirt buildup on that filter, the harder your A/C unit has to work, and the more electricity it uses.

Fourth - Compact Flourescent Bulbs in EVERY fixture they'll fit in. These little suckers aren't as cheap as regular light bulbs, but use a fraction of the wattage, and come in a wide variety of sizes to fit almost any type of light fixture or lamp. If you have small, low wattage lamps that take really small light bulbs, those can stay. In fact, they're a good idea. Use floor and table lamps more often than the big light fixtures. Once again, they use a fraction of the energy. You don't have to replace your bulbs all at once. Do it two or three at a time. I did, and all my CFB's are still working (they last a LONG time).

Fifth - WEATHERSTRIPPING, WEATHERSTRIPPING, WEATHERSTRIPPING. If you can see daylight around the edge of your exterior doors, they need new or more weatherstripping. Get it as thick as possible. I'd rather have to slam the door to shut it and have a tight fit than loose all my cool air around it. Also, during the hottest part of the day, keep exterior doors closed and locked if possible. Screen and glass doors don't insulate well at all.

Sixth - Paint. Yep, I said it. Paint. If the exterior of your house is a dark color, consider making it lighter. Lighter colors reflect sunlight, and heat, instead of absorbing it. If you need to replace your roof, replace it with the lightest color of asphalt tile (or, if you can afford it, a metal roof) you can. In Arizona, most asphalt tile roofs are WHITE. Why? It reduces heat absorption into the house through the roof and attic by up to 30% every day. If you have a flat roof, or a mobile home, invest in some of that white Elastomeric roof coating. It's basically liquid rubber that dries hard and weatherproof. Remember: Light color reflectes light and heat. Dark color absorbs light and heat.

Seventh - The Little Things -
You know those little things you plug in to charge your cell phone, or tool batteries, etc.? Those are transformers. They transform AC power to DC power to charge the battery. Well, ANYTIME they are plugged in, whether charging anything or not, THEY'RE USING ELECTRICITY. If you have one plugged in now, feel it. It's probably warm, which means all the wasted electricity is being bled off as heat energy. It's not much, but unplugging these when not in use will save you $$$ on the electric bill.
Also, if you have windows on the east and/or west facing windows in your house, close the curtains, blinds, etc. on these windows, or at least close the east ones in the morning, and the west facing ones in the evening. Less direct sunlight through the window means less heat in the house.
Finally, check your insulation in the attic and walls of your house. Like the commercial says, if you have a house built before 1976, you probably have NO exterior wall insulation. That blow in insulation might be a wise investment. That's my next move. If you can't afford to insulate your entire attic at once, do it a little at a time. Something is better than nothing. And, make sure your attic is properly vented. You can put fans up here, too, if you have the room and a place to wire them in. Just circulating that hot air will help it escape through the roof vents.

There's more you can do to save money on electric bills. Get a digital thermostat. They're more accurate than the old mercury switch kind and you can install it yourself (there's usually only two wires!). Turn the A/C temp. up when you're not home. Every little thing helps and it adds up.
You want proof? My electric bill last May was $290. This May it was $153, just by making a few of these changes.

Go ahead. What have you got to lose? Certainly not more money!