Electric Bill Creeping Up?

As winter kicks into high gear, utility costs go with it! While we can't control what utility companies charge, we can regulate how much we consume.

Your electric bill is one of the easiest to save on. Here are a few ways you can cut back.

Turn It Off!

While the notion to hang every possible Christmas light grips us, and I love decorating as much as anyone, it is very costly. Consider: According to the Energy Information Administration (http://www.eia.doe.gov) the national average Kilo Watt per Hour (KWH) charge for electrical service in the United States is 10.94 Cents.

Here are the facts:

· A typical 50-bulb strand of lights is 25 Watts.

· At 25 Watts, it will take 40 hours of use to equal 1 KWH. If you put 500 lights on your tree (250 Watts) that 10.94 Cents every 4 hours.

· Burn them for 24 hours a day, that equals = 65 Cents per day which totals $19.00 for the holiday month of December. That's just the Christmas lights on your tree!

If you have Christmas lights outside your house, plus add the extra cooking of the holidays (Electric Range)and an extra electric heater for added warmth, (A 1500 Watt heater costs 16.41 Cents per hour to run), the costs can climb very quickly.

If we will train ourselves to turn off things we aren't using i.e. television when we aren't in the room, ceiling lights and lamps etc. we can cut our costs back considerably. Using the above formulas you can see where the savings would add up very quickly!

Downsize

Consider the following information:Energy-Saving vs Incandescent Light Bulbs

Energy-Saving Bulbs (compact fluorescent lights)

An 11-Watt CFL bulb (equivalent to an ordinary 60W bulb) costs $2.41 to run per year.

Energy-saving bulbs last on average 12 times longer than ordinary light bulbs, with a life span of around six years.

They cost about $3.50.

Each bulb can reduce your electricity bill by up to $10 a year.

They generate up to 70 per cent less heat.Ordinary (incandescent) Light Bulbs

An ordinary 60W bulb costs up to $13.14 in electricity bills per year.

The average life span is between 750 and 1000 hours, which gives round five months of use

An ordinary bulb costs around 50 cents.

In most houses lighting accounts for approximately 15 % of the electricity bill.It's an easy and cost effective way to reduce your energy bills! Plus, today's designs are stylish enough that you can even replace bulbs that are exposed. You can find more information by following this link. http://www.gelighting.com/na/home_lighting/products/energy_star.htm

Finally

Just a few other suggestions:

· Fix leaky faucets, especially those on the hot water side. This makes the hot water heater recover more often.

· Install programmable thermostats. Even if you don't have an electric furnace, it will keep the fan from running as much. Set your thermostat as far back as 60 degrees when no one is home.

· Photocells. Install light fixtures that are controlled by photoelectric controls. These insure that lighting outside is off during the daylight hours.

There are many things that we can do to cut back our utility bills if we will pay attention. It's easy to save!

We can all use the extra money for Christmas...Happy Savings!!