If the first thing that comes to mind every month is “our energy bill is too high” – you aren’t alone. Although lowering your energy bill might seem like a daunting task, it shouldn’t have to be. Just by doing a few simple adjustments and implementing a few changes, you can drive the cost of your energy bill down.
We recently partnered with Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) to share with you some of our tips on how to successfully keep our energy cost down during the hottest months of the year. I was also invited to participate in FPL’s #BeatTheHeat challenge, more on that below. Although, this is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of FPL. All expressed opinions are 100% mine and not influenced by anything or anyone.
How to Reduce Your Energy Bill with Four Simple Changes
We moved into our current house in the winter months and I remember thinking that our energy bill was manageable. Fast forward into the summer months and not taking into account that our family had grown from four members to five members, and our air conditioning system was working over time. Receiving that first bill was an eye-opening experience, to say the least. We looked at, consulted with our air conditioning tech, and we did the research on what we could do to lower our energy bill. Of course, the common solution was to upgrade our appliances and/or upgrading to a new energy efficient air conditioner. As you can see these aren’t exactly cost-effective solutions or an ideal solution when you have a newborn and two young children at home. But we still had to lower our energy bill, so what could we do? The solution was to get smart about our energy consumption and learn how to reduce our energy bill with four simple changes. So here is what we did and you can too.
Photo Credit, FPL.
1 . Air Conditioning
As you know, we live in Sunny Miami, so our air conditioning usage accounts for the majority of our energy bill. You can make the processes of cooling your home more cost-effective by following these simple changes.
- Manage your A/C settings. FPL recommends setting your thermostat to 78 degrees for energy savings, but it’s up to you. Every degree you raise it can save you five percent on monthly cooling costs.
- Keep your vents open and clean to help keep your A/C running efficiently. It is a myth that by closing vents in unused rooms it will keep costs down when indeed this practice will raise your energy cost.
- Keep your air conditioning filter clean. Your air conditioning system uses filters to help keep dirt and dust from clogging vents. Therefore, changing your filter is recommended at least every 30 days. This will help ensure that your air conditioning maintains a good airflow which helps minimize your energy consumption. I would suggest picking up a bulk pack at your local hardware store, just make sure to pick up the correct sizes.
- Turn off your ceiling fans. Another myth I often hear is to use your ceiling fans to cool down your rooms. Although ceiling fans are a great way to keep you cool, they certainly don’t cool rooms down. So, whenever you leave a room, be sure to turn off those fans and save you some of your hard-earned money.
- Quick tip: run your ceiling fans counter-clockwise in the summer and clockwise in the winter.
Photo Credit, FPL.
2. Switch light bulbs
Replacing your incandescent light bulbs for LED lights is one of the simplest and fastest ways to save money.
- Did you know that LEDs use about 90% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs? Not only that, LED bulbs can last up to 10 times longer, so the next time you or your landlord need to replace a light bulb, consider switching to LED bulbs.
- Quick tip: if your household has light fixtures with dimmers, make sure to read the label to choose the right LED bulbs.
- As a parent of three young children who is always reminding them to shut off the lights when they leave a room, I would suggest looking into smart or motion sensor switches. Although some motion sensor switches need to be manually turned on, they automatically shut off unused lights.
Photo Credit, FPL.
3. Stop wasting energy
Whether you live in a condo, apartment or a single family home, you can lower your energy bill by simply closing the shades and unplugging electronics when not in use. Better yet, consolidate your electronic power cables into a power strip.
- Shade your windows: You can keep your house cooler and reduce the amount of heat that enters your home by keeping your shades drawn during the day. If you are a renter, you can hang inexpensive blackout curtains. This is a simple change but very effective in keeping your energy bill down.
- Power strips: Did you know that certain items in your home, like your TV, computer, cable box or game console use energy when switched off? To prevent these so-called “energy phantoms” and to keep your energy consumption in check, plug their power cords into a power strip and turn off the entire power strip when not in use.
- Quick tip: if you are worried about losing your settings, these electronics are equipped with memory chips that maintain all your settings. It is not like those old VCR-like devices that would blink endlessly when power goes out.
Photo Credit, FPL.
4. Monitor your energy usage and create personalized energy-savings plans
Utilities providers, like FPL, provide ways for their customers to monitor their energy usage and some may even offer ways to create a free personalized energy-savings plan.
- Monitor your energy usage. For example, you can monitor your energy consumption via the FPL Mobile App and view what your bill will be so that you can make the necessary changes before it arrives. You can get the FLP Mobile App by texting “APP” to MyFPL (69375).
- Create a personalized energy-savings plan: Another way that you can identify additional ways to reduce your energy consumption is by creating a personalized energy-saving plan. If you are an FPL customer, you can do this by taking the free Online Home Energy Survey at FPL.com/BeatTheHeat. By creating a custom plan, you can keep your home more energy efficient and save up to $300 a year.
There are other ways you can keep your energy bill in check, like investing in a smart thermostat. But for now, you can reduce your energy bill with the four simple changes above.
#BeatTheHeat challenge
As I mentioned at above, myself, as well as a few other Miami influencers, have been invited to participate in FPL’s #BeatTheHeat challenge. Now through September 15, we will be showing you exactly how we implement our tips to reduce our energy bill, as well as, how we keep track of our energy usage by using some of FPL’s available tools.
So, why am I telling you this? The top performing influencer will have the chance to win non-profit energy makeover and energy efficiency prize pack of $450 value and I am going to need your help with this one.
But what’s in it for you? If I am the top performing influencer, ONE lucky Dad Blogs About reader will win an energy efficiency pack as well, the prize pack includes an Ecobee4 (value of $250), LED bulbs/smart plugs/power strips (value of $100) and a $100 Home Depot gift card.
What do you have to do? Since, the influencer who wins will be determined based on engagement (likes, shares, and comments – using tracked hashtag #BeatTheHeat). So, all you have to do is follow along and engage with me via DadBlogsAbout’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts and use the #BeatTheHeat hashtag.
What do you all think? I would love to hear your own tips on how to #BeatTheHeat, chime in via the comment section below.