Monday, March 12, 2012

DOING THE BEST WITH YOUR ELECTRIC BILL



"Do You Want to Save on Your Electric Bill? Understand Your Electric Rates, Fees and Charges","
 you want to save on your electric bill. This article will help you understand those electric rates, fees and charges that make up your total electric bill.

What does your electric bill tell you about how you use electric power?

Take another look at your electric bill. Your monthly bill tells you how many kilowatt-hours (kWhs) you used in the current month. You can do the math yourself -- simply divide your total bill for the month by the total kilowatt-hours you used that month. Your monthly bill can be a tool for you to track the results of your household energy conservation. If your house is air-conditioned, that big hump in the chart's summer months reflects your air conditioning load.

Look at all those electric rates, fees, taxes, charges and surcharges Somewhere on your bill is your ""price to compare"" per kilowatt-hour as of a certain recent date. If your state and electric utility offers ""supply choice"" you may be able to obtain your electric supply from an alternative supplier for less than your utility's ""price to compare. Simply multiply that rate by the total number of kilowatt-hours of electricity you use in a year.

But your electric supply charge is only part of your electric bill.  If you are home mostly on weekends or evenings (off-peak), you may be able to save money by signing up. Be Careful! If you sign up for time-of-use rates and find yourself using all of your power during the peak rate time, you could end up paying more than you would have had you not signed up!

Additional charges used by some utilities

There are an almost infinite combination of use charges, fees, and rate structures in use throughout the world.
For example, high peak-use rates are intended to encourage the user (you) to reduce your power use during high-cost periods; for example, do your laundry at night in the summer, not during the hot day when air conditioning loads are at their highest.

 Some CA bills include two or three basic rates:baseline allowance billed at a lower rate medical baseline allowance (at an even lower rate for qualified households) non-baseline rate (at a higher rate)The above rates are applied to your monthly kWhs used to come up with your total bill. During times of peak electric loads (such as hot summer days) your electric utility can reduce its load by interrupting your electric service.
 Check with your local electric utility. Contact your local utility and explore your options. Know how much power your household appliances are using and optimize their use.

"How to Use Your Electric Bill to Save Money - Five Ways to Cut Your Electric Bill"," If you're like me, you want to save everywhere you can. This article will help you learn how to use your bill to save money.
 Find a recent electric bill and have it handy as you read on.  For them, that is the bottom line.  They forget about electricity until next month's bill arrives and they repeat the process -- pay and forget about electricity.
 Remember the total dollar amount.  Prepare a chart or spreadsheet and record your monthly electric charges.  Look at your bill.  Put those numbers into your spreadsheet. You need to reduce that number in order to reduce your total electric bill.

 It ( air conditioner ) will consume 10,000 watt-hours (100 watts times 100 hours) of electricity, or 10 kilowatt-hours. That lamp consumed 9.  If you pay 15 cents per kilowatt hour, you would have wasted over $1.  Replace that bulb with a 23-watt compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) that produces the same amount of light as the 100-watt bulb. You'll save 100%!

How much are you charged per kilowatt-hour? Most people look only at the bottom line - they skip over the details in their bill.  You may be able to save money. It is the average price you pay for electric supply [or commodity].  It depends on how much it costs your utility to generate or buy electricity. "" You can also use your ""price to compare"" to estimate your annual electric supply charge from your electric utility.
 (Some utilities include on their bills the number of kWhs you used over the last year.Divide your total electric bill by the number of kilowatt hours you used.  Surprise! That number is higher that the ""price to compare"" (or commodity charge). Your fixed charges include customer charges and other fees or taxes you pay regardless of the amount of electricity you use.  Those fixed charges do not change from month to month.

Put the following unit prices ($/kWh) into your spreadsheet: your ""price to compare,""the sum of your monthly fixed charge divided by kilowatt-hours used,the sum of your monthly variable charges divided by kilowatt-hours used,and the total amount of your electric bill divided by kilowatt-hours used. Which unit price should you use for estimating how much money you can save by reducing your power consumption?
I suggest that you add your ""price to compare"" (#1) to the price/kWh for other variable charges (#3).


Here are five ways to save money on your electric bill:

Reduce your power consumption.  Beware of all the stealth power-eaters that use power even when they have been turned off (e.  TVs, multimedia equipment, computers). If you have air conditioning, set your thermostat a few degrees warmer. Purchase Energy Saver appliances and equipment. Consider interruptible electric service rates. During times of peak electric loads (such as hot summer days) your electric utility can reduce its load by interrupting your electric service. Sign up for time-of-use rates offered by your utility.
 If you are home mostly on weekends or evenings (off-peak), you may be able to save money by signing up.
 They are free resources.  It you are a motivated do-it-yourselfer, you can build a small system yourself.

I have listed and explained some easy methods below that you can put into practice straight away to greatly lower your electricity bill. This is usually in the region of a 10% rate reduction in the amount you pay for your energy.

Duel fuel Discounts

More or less all of the major gas and electricity companies as regards to gas and electricity now have the facility to bill you for both of them. This is mainly due to the fact that you are providing them with more custom.

Prompt Payment discount

For those of you who do not pay by direct debit, but pay by cheque or by taking the bill down to the post office you can still get a discount for paying promptly.  The discount again is in the region of 10%.
 This also means you will also not be receiving estimated bills which tend to be on the higher side.

Household Efficiency

Generally devices such as energy saving light bulbs will save you money all year round.  I recently phoned up my provider and got 8 money saving light bulbs for free. Vs and D. D players on standby still use around 70% of the energy they would when they're on, so remember to switch them off and save yourself money and lower them dreaded electricity bills. I have more detailed methods in a report on my website that expand on the ideas here.


 " Winning Tools That Get the Job Done"," It takes a little work on your part, but knowing about these tools and understanding how they can help will get you a lower energy bill very quickly.  When the amount is higher than you expected, it can be hit to your bank account. There are many things you can do to lower your electricity usage.

The trick is to track sources of electricity usage and manage how and when they're used. Watt measuring devices are now on the market which track power consumption at home and find those appliances that are adding to your electric bill.  These measuring devices are well worth the money, often costing below $30.
 This is just one of many new ways in which homeowners are getting the upper hand on energy efficiency.
 Devise a plan for your household, go over the rules with your family, and you'll be amazed at the difference you can make.


 In today's bad economy situation, more and more people are trying to find way to reduce their expenses, and electric bill is among the important bills to be reduced. You can always start with simple ways to enjoy immediate electric bill savings while working out for long term plan to convert your home energy source to cost effective energy alternative. Use Efficient Compact Florescent Bulbs The most instant electric bill savings is changing your home's old fashioned light bulbs with efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.
 Those efficient compact bulbs just use a fraction of the energy than what traditional light bulbs are used; they can last 10 times longer and enabling you to save money that is needed to replace bulbs.

 Reduce The Energy Waste Of Your Heater

Do you know one of the major electric consumption home appliances is heater? If you want to reduce your electric bill significantly, then you must do something with your heater to prevent the waste of energy.
 Normally it will be set at above 120 degree mark to stay away from potential harmful bacteria.  If your heater is set at higher degree than 120, then re-set the setting to 120 degree will helps you to save your electric bill.

 Set Air Condition At The Right Temperature

If you do use air condition to cool down the air temperature of your home during summer time, then don't set the air condition's temperature too low to waste energy. Although setting the temperature below 20 degree will give you more cooling feeling, but it will also mean more energy will be used and you will need to pay more electric bill at the end.  But these practices waste more energy and cause you to pay more electric bills.

Although it might be a little bit costly to install a solar power system, but for long term, it still the most cost efficient energy source that will save your electric bill significantly.

"Reduce Your Electric Bill - Money Saving Tips We Can All Use"," We have all heard the phrase - Plan the work then work the plan. Make a plan on how you are going to take steps to reduce your electric bill then put forward the effort on a daily basis to work your plan. A one-time investment in a new unit could save you up to 30-40%. Clean coils increase efficiency and reduce power consumption as well as extends the units life. The inside coils should be cleaned at the beginning of the cooling season by a service technician.
Keep obstructions (plants, grass, shrubs, flowers, etc) away from the outside condenser unit for normal air flow. Cool to 78 degrees.

Winter Tips

Sunlight. Not only will it bring in some extra heat but it might just make you feel more alive during the dreary cold weather days. The leaks that let in cold air during the heating season also let in warm air during the cooling season.  Outside air can drastically affect the controlled environment you create inside your home.
 Door sweeps, outlet gaskets, attic tents and insulation are great one-time investments for energy savings and are usually available locally.  Reducing the thermostat setting by 10 degrees at night could save up to 10% on your energy costs. Set it and forget it to save energy all year long.  Covering vents in unused or unoccupied rooms not only reduces the total space needing heated or cooled but at the same time distributes the tempered air to rooms that are occupied, making them more comfortable for the same amount of energy consumption. Refrigerators use approximately 8% of your electric bill. Vacuuming or cleaning the coil can improve the operating efficiency by approximately 30%. Moving the air in a room can make the room feel warmer/cooler without changing the actual temperature. Most homes are built with R-15 or R-11 (or less).
 Poorly insulated attics can lose up to 40% in cooling and 60% in heating. Poorly sealed ducts can leak 15-40% as well as reduce the air quality by pulling in unwanted airborne contaminants. The initial investment is more but they last longer and operate with less energy. Use only when necessary as they pull tempered air out of your home.

Turn down the water heater temperature to a maximum of 125 degrees. Check with you utility company and inquire about the rates at different times of the day. If you can move high power consumption tasks such as laundry to off peak hours you will be saving in the rates if not in actual power consumption but the bottom line is you have saved on your electric bill.  There are only a few people who can or are willing to invest thousands of dollars into these types of items but there are other practical ways to save a few bucks on your electric bill.  Now this sounds expensive but the fact is, you can start generating your own electricity for less than $200.  Instead of mailing a check to the electric company each month they could be sending YOU a check each month!

Thank you for your time and interest in learning how to Reduce Your Electric Bill.



SOLAR PANELS ARE THE WAY TO GO IF YOU BUILD THEM YOURSELF

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