Energy Saving Tips for the Frugal Homeowner

Editor's Note:  This article is a guest post from consumer advocate Michele Duchet.  Michele writes frequently on money and consumer issues. He has written this article on behalf of Texaselectricityproviders.com.

Many people dread the time of the month that their power bill arrives. The power company always seems to charge too much for too little. Usually, people respond by turning off the air conditioner or the heater. They don’t often realize that it’s easy to cut down on your power bills without cutting down on your comfort. Often, lopping a huge chunk of your utility bills requires nothing more than to be alert to possible sources of waste.

Finding a cheaper source of energy

One of the first things that you can do to save on your energy bills is to find out if you live in a state where you get to choose whom you buy your electricity from. Starting back in 1977 many states began to restructure their energy infrastructure in order to allow consumers a better choice of electricity and natural gas providers.  Currently 17 states allow consumers some choice of energy providers.  If you are not sure if your state provides options you can usually find out by contacting the state level energy department.  Also, many alternative energy providers provide online maps which can show you which parts of a state they serve.  For example, in the Lone Star State, you can look up an alternative energy provider such as Ambit Energy and get a Texas coverage map for the cheapest utility and then painlessly switch power utility providers. Once you find the cheapest utility, it’s time to look indoors for more savings.

Being alert in the summer

• Awnings used to be very popular 50 or 60 years ago – even on high-rise apartment complexes. These days, with air conditioning easily available, awnings go out of style. If you live in a warm place like Texas, you could easily cut down air conditioning power consumption in rooms that face the sun a large part of the day by shading every window with an awning. If you don’t like awnings, shutters can be a good idea, too (you should probably stay away from using blinds on your windows – they are a dust magnet and tend to be a maintenance nightmare)
• Green roofs are not a modern invention. People have been covering their roofs in vegetation for centuries – even sloped roofs. If the roofing on your house can support edge-to-edge the roof vegetation, you could get a great-looking roof, help the environment and significantly improve the energy efficiency of your home. Since leaves always have water evaporating out of them, the air around any vegetation remains cooler than the air in the surrounding environment. While you’re at it, you could look into covering your walls with vines and creepers, too. As long as you get the job professionally done, you shouldn’t have any trouble (poorly planned vine cover projects, for instance, attract plenty of rodents).
• If you live in an arid climate, you should consider getting an evaporative cooler instead of an air conditioner. It could save you $200 each year on your electricity bills.
• Finally, here is an unconventional idea –as far as possible, don’t cook indoors. If you can possibly manage it, consider building an outside summer kitchen in your backyard. You’ll keep a lot of your stove’s heat outside this way.  In fact, consider a solar oven as a way of cooking.  Solar cookers are inexpensive and easy to use.  You can find out more about them in our Solar Energy section.

Being careful when it’s winter

• Your first step is to insulate your house as well as you can. Even if you live in a rented house, you could consider spending your own money to get the attic insulated. Attic insulation is cheap enough that you could conceivably make your money back in energy savings. Finding every drafty door, window and switch plate and sealing any sources of air leakage is important, too.
• Your next step would be to get a quality Energy Star-rated programmable thermostat. You could easily save $100 on your heating bills with one of these.

Finally, winters are when the holidays come around. While all the festive lighting can be cheerful to look at, conventional lights can waste immense amounts of energy. Consider getting LED holiday lights for holiday cheer that is sensitive to both the environment and your wallet.