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Lowest Electric Bill in Two Years!!!

June 29th, 2008 at 04:49 pm

I received my electric bill this week and was pleasantly surprised that it was only $53.96!!! My average monthly bill for the last two years has been $105. Generally my usage in the summer is much less than in the winter. I have electric baseboard heat and in the winter the bill is often over $200 a month.

I am on the time of day plan with my electric company. I have on-peak hours from 9 am to 9 pm and off-peak hours from 9 pm to 9 am. In addition, weekends are off-peak hours as well. The cost for the off-peak usage is considerably less than for on-peak. For June we used 81% off-peak and 19% on-peak. I have always been careful to run the dishwasher and washer/dryer during off-peak times. I try to encourage the children to conserve energy too (by turning off lights/TV/appliances when not in use). In most cases, I don't allow the air conditioners to be on until after 9 pm. We just run the whole house fan with the windows open for a nice breeze.

I've taken ImaSaver's suggestion and have turned the hot water heater off occasionally when it is not needed. I also set the temperature for hot water at 90 degrees instead of 120 degrees. Also, I have turned the computer completely off much more than I have in the past.

I'm able to see that my efforts have been paying off in a big way and I like the decreased numbers I'm seeing on the electric bill!!!

Anyone have any other suggestions for helping me to lower my electric bill even further?

Posted in Budgeting | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Lowest Electric Bill in Two Years!!!”

  1. creditcardfree Says:
    June 29th, 2008 at 05:09 pm 1214759382
    1214759382

    You might check that you have your hot water hot enough to sanitize your dishes in the dishwasher. I thought I had heard it needs to be at least at 120 degrees to kill germs.

    I am very impressed with your reduction of energy. I'm hoping our bill is lower this month...I've had quite a few days without a/c!

  2. Ima saver Says:
    June 29th, 2008 at 05:24 pm 1214760269
    1214760269

    My hot water heater only gets turned on once or twice a day. Just for showers and running the dish washer and then it is turned right off. I have been doing this for 31 years with no problem. Why keep the water hot when you are not using it!

  3. fruitbowlk Says:
    June 29th, 2008 at 09:38 pm 1214775493
    1214775493

    Don't you love it?

  4. klbb90 Says:
    June 29th, 2008 at 11:56 pm 1214783816
    1214783816

    You said you turn off the tv/appliances when not in use but they can still draw electricity if you don't unplug them. You could consider that and of course, compact light bulbs are great for saving electricity. Restricting how often the fridge is opened/closed each day (set up a cooler each morning as one alternative).

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