6 Ways to Save On Your Utility Bill

Who doesn’t love turning up the air conditioner on a hot summer day? You can still keep the A.C. on, just raise the room temperature by as little as 5 degrees, which could save you as much as 15% on cooling costs.

We won’t ask you to take cold showers, but we do suggest washing your duds in cold water, which expends roughly half as much energy as hot rinses. To save even more when doing the wash and fold: do laundry at night (during “off-peak” billing hours) and clean out the lint tray before starting the dryer.

Even when off, plugged-in electronics are still huge energy suckers and account for roughly five percent of all electricity used in the U.S., costing consumers nearly $4 billion a year. Use a power strip to conserve energy when appliances are idle.

Seriously, leave the lights on. Just install motion sensors that turn off lights automatically when there’s no longer any movement in a room or hallway. While the lights might cut out while you’re busy working virtually motionless at the computer, consider it a healthy reminder to take a break from staring at that screen.

If you think you’re saving water by hand-washing dishes, think again. According to Consumer Reports, simply pre-rinsing your dirty dishes uses roughly 20 gallons of heated water a day. Just scrape the food off and drop them in the washer.