Simple Ways to Lower Energy Costs this Summer - Money Tip Tuesday

According to WMUR, New Hampshire officials are warning residents to prepare for higher utility bills, with a general increase of fifty percent expected. This tip provides some simple ways you can lower your energy costs for this summer.  

• Read the WMUR article: https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-increases-electricity-bills-61622/40314355#
• Check our your electricity rates: https://www.energybot.com/electricity-rates/new-hampshire/
• Check out this article with additional tips to save money on your electric bill: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/how-to-save-money-on-your-electric-bill

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Transcript:

Welcome to Money Tip Tuesday from the Making Money Personal podcast. 

With the weather getting warmer, it’s understandable that you have fans going and the air conditioning running to stay cool. However, heating and cooling is one of the bigger expenses on your utility bill. If you’re going to leave the house, or even not go in an air conditioned room for a while, you might as well turn off the cooling. Air conditioners especially use a lot of power and can range from 500 to 3500 watts per hour, depending on the size. This can range from 3 cents to 42 cents an hour.  

Check to make sure that your doors, windows, and refrigerator are sealed properly. If they aren’t sealed, this allows the cool air to exit, which means that your air conditioner and refrigerator are going to have to work harder to run, causing an increase in energy usage. If you haven’t already, you may want to consider insulating your house, or sealing leaky windows and doors to keep as much cool air inside as possible.  

Another way to stop your refrigerator from working overtime is to keep your fridge at 38 degrees F and your freezer between 0 and 5 degrees F. At these temperatures, your food will still stay fresh and your refrigerator won’t use as much energy.  

Hot water is another big expense. There are quite a few things that you can do to lower this on your next utility bill. To begin with, take shorter showers. Even taking just two minutes off your shower can save five gallons of water, which is about 10 cents. Check your faucets to see if they are leaking. If they are, replacing them will save not only the water leaking from your tap, but also the money leaking from your wallet. You can also do your laundry with cold or warm water instead of hot. Doing this can cut your energy consumption per load in half.  

The final energy user is lights and electronics. Check your lightbulbs to make sure that they are energy efficient. Look for lightbulbs that have the Energy Star label and install dimmer switches if you can, to lower your energy consumption. Similarly to air conditioning, if you are not in the room, turn the lights off. There’s no point in lighting up a room that you aren’t in. You can also use smart power strips to lower energy costs, especially with devices that are constantly using power day and night.  

It might also be time to replace any old appliances you’re using. Newer appliances often run more energy efficient than older ones, so buying a new one might save you money in the long run.  

If there are any other tips or topics you’d like us to cover, let us know at tcupodcast@trianglecu.org and don't forget to like and follow our Making Money Personal FB page and look for our sponsor, Triangle Credit Union on Instagram and LinkedIn to share your thoughts.  

Thanks for listening to today’s Money Tip Tuesday and be sure to check out our other tips and episodes on the Making Money Personal podcast.  

Have a great day!