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Ahhh, the joy of renovating a house. Picking out new paint colors, flooring, new bathroom vanities and maybe even some kitchen cabinets.
You put your heart, soul and waaaayyy too much thought into finding that perfect shade of gray, deciding what kind of pattern to lay the tile in and you may even spend an entire month deciding what light fixtures to go with.
And when it’s finally done, you sit back, prop your feet up, and open a cold (cheap) beer while you leisurely go through your mail.
You spit the beer out when you see the $300 electric bill that has your name and new address on it.
True story.
Ok, I wasn’t all feet up, relaxing, but I was sitting at my desk.
I was in no way prepared for that first electric bill we got when we finally moved into The 70’s Landing Pad. Before moving in, the heat and/or air was only running when we were there working on something. Otherwise it was off. And sometimes, it wasn’t even on while we were there because we didn’t need it.
So when we did finally move in after all the remodeling and I got that first $300 electric bill, followed by another and another, we realized that something might be up.
Where we live, there is an eScore program you can sign up for and have an energy professional come out and do an energy audit on your house. They will tell you what you need to fix to stop losing energy and in what order you should do it. It’s all free and sometimes you are even eligible for rebates after fixing many of the things.
These are the three biggest things you should address first if you’ve got a crazy high electric bill.
Three Things That Could Cut Your Electric Bill In Half
1. Insulation
I never realized just how damn awesome insulation was until last year. Have your attic, crawlspace, and garage inspected to make sure enough insulation is there. Our garage was fine and we don’t have a crawlspace, but our attic had almost zero insulation. There wasn’t enough to keep any heat or cool air in the house at all. Having a high R value of insulation (around here, they recommend an R38 value) is the biggest thing you can do to help stop losing energy out of your house and reduce your electric bills. We also had air sealing done in the attic, which sealed up all the joints between the drywall below and any other holes where air could escape. The energy expert who inspected our house made it clear that getting more insulation in the attic should be our first priority. We followed his advice, did just that and yes, it made a world of difference. If you’ve already got plenty of insulation, look at the weatherstripping around your doors. Hold your hand up to the sides of the door and if you feel any air coming in, you probably need to replace the weatherstripping there or add some.
2. Windows
We have a lovely mix of windows at the 70’s Landing Pad. In the front of the house, we have wood, single pane windows (some of which don’t even open) and in the back of the house, we have aluminum, single pane windows. When one of the previous owners decided to change the windows, I guess they just didn’t want to spend all the money to switch out all of them when no one ever saw the back of the house. Thanks, really appreciate that, guys! Not. After insulation, the next thing on the list to switch out were windows – new, energy efficient ones. We haven’t been able to do this just yet due to problems with the money tree out back that isn’t bearing fruit. We are really hoping that by the late spring or early summer though, we will have all 20 windows that the house sports switched out.
We have done a few things to decrease the loss of energy through our current windows though:
• Blinds
Blinds can be really helpful at stopping cool or warm air from the outside coming and keeping the air inside from going out. Case in point would be our bedroom and my office. Both of those spaces were like sweatboxes by about 2pm due to the sun beating down through the windows. We bought cheap $10 blinds and those were a game changer.
• Heavy, Light Blocking Curtains
In the Circus’ room, we bought her blinds and room darkening curtains. The curtains are heavier in weight so they also helped to keep the hot and cold air out.
• Caulk and Seal
Caulk around any of the trim that is around your windows. You’d be surprised how much air can leak out that way. You could also seal around your windows if you feel any air coming in by using some weather stripping.
3. Central Heat & Air Units
And then there are the central heat and air units. The energy inspector said that our units did need replacing, which we knew, but he also said if it was him, he wouldn’t replace them right away unless they just died. He said to replace the windows first because the units could end up lasting for another five years. So, we are saying lots of prayers that the units won’t die anytime soon and also trying to prolong their life. In fact, I have some tips here about things you can do to prolong the life of your central heat and air units. 🙂 Of course, getting a programmable thermostat to regulate your heat and air is always a good idea to cut down on energy bills as well.
And just to reiterate, of all these things, insulation is key.
I am a believer in the power of insulation and I don’t care how corny it makes me sound.
What have you done to reduce your electric bills in the past?
You might also want to see….
How I Made $2K+ in Two Months Selling Our Clutter
Eight Ways to Extend the Life of Your HVAC Unit
*Affiliate links may be contained in this post. That just means if you click on one of those links and buy something, I may receive a small commission, but you won’t pay a dime more.
We put in all of the energy efficient light bulbs, and saved $30 a month! We always turn lights off when we leave a room anyway, so I didn’t expect to see that much savings. That is $360 a year which helps tremendously. Yes, the bulbs are expensive, but we bought a few a month and slowly changed them so it worked into our budget.
Isn’t it crazy what light bulbs can do, Lois?! We’ve changed most of ours out as well!
Informative post! We have done all of these things plus window tinting. We have east and west facing windows and the early morning and late afternoon sun can be brutal in South Louisiana. Tinting has helped keep some of that Nawlins’ heat outside. Love your blog! Keep up the great work. 🙂
Window tinting is a good idea, Angelle. I’ve heard of that for cars, but never even thought about it for your house!
I had my car guy tint my home windows 3 years ago. I have 16 and front glass door all full afternoon sun windows. Best -110.00 dollars spent in years. It works and you can see out during day but they can’t see in at night I have accordion pull down blinds and in august dog hot days I keep them pulled and thermal drapes pulled my home stays constant 77 on 100 plus degree days. I’m in Charleston SC very very humid hot climate three to four months of year. Any hoo Tint you won’t regret it
Oh wow, that seems like a great deal for $110! Thanks for letting me know!
Turn the heat way down and go on a cruise!
haha! I wish!
At my dad’s house, I can feel at least a 10 degree drop in the temp when I’m in the kitchen. Over the sink is a large “garden” window they had put in decades ago and I am certain that is the culprit! I got some caulk, but don’t know whether to put in on the inside or outside of the window…do you know? Thanks for the hints! Hubs is quite glad (and so am I) that I haven’t been home this winter…the bills for electric and oil for the furnace have been running $800/month and that is keeping the heat between 55-60!! The temps have been below 32 for over a month and frequently hang out below 0. We got new double-pane windows 2 years ago along with new steel siding, so that part is so much better (I used to feel a cold breeze when sitting on the couch in front of the old windows from 1930). About 15 years ago he put blown-in insulation in the walls, but I think it is time to check the attic again. The house is 3 stories (full basement) and I don’t think there is any insulation between the floors and the oil furnace only heats the main floor. I really miss the pellet stove we used to use to heat the main floor…it was so wonderful!
Oh wow, Susan!!! I used to live in an old house that was heated with propane gas and I had those $800 bills too – hated them! And it seemed like I was still never really warm! I think you could probably caulk the inside and outside of the window – go around all the edges outside and then hold your hand up to the inside and see if there are any other places you feel air coming in and caulk there.
Replacing windows is an easy DIY. Just buy one at a time as you can afford to. I replaced all the windows in my daughter’s home by myself with the exception of the picture window which was too heavy for me to do alone.
Wow, Debra! That is awesome that you did those on your own! Very impressive!
These are some really amazing and simple tips! Loved them. Thanks for joining us at the Family Joy blog link up party!
Glad they were helpful, Shamira!
Ugh I hate our electric bills! Everything electric in a doublewide…..Thanks for coming to Family Joy Blog linkup.
Great tips! We had window tinting applied to our west-facing windows several years ago and were amazed at what a tremendous difference they made. Next stop: insulation. (But we’re having the same problem as you with our money tree! haha)
Darn those money trees!! haha!
This one wasn’t mentioned in your post, so I thought I’d add it here. I’ve read that the most expensive appliance in the house is the refrigerator. It takes a LOT of energy to keep that thing nice and cold. Consequently, if you have several refrigerators and/or freezers in your house, they are a big energy sucker. Just an FYI.
Oh, didn’t think about that Mary. Good point!
I really think insulation might be the problem in our 9 year-old, 2400 square foot home – our bill in the summer is $500+. I’m just wondering what kind of company you went with to do the insulation and if you don’t mind me asking, approximately how much did that cost you? Thanks so much for your post!
Hi Becky! Yep, if you’re bill is that much, I would definitely get the insulation checked out. We just went with a local insulation company – just google insulation companies in your area. Our house is about 3400 square feet and I think it cost around $1800 for the insulation.
I didn’t see anyone mention this one. Most electric companies also charge different rates at different times of day, so knowing their “peak times” can help you reduce your cost some. I recently discovered that the rate between 3-5 am is a 3rd per kwhr as it is during the peak from 12-6 in the afternoon/evening. Now I know what that delay feature is for!! I turn my dishwasher and washing machine on right before bed with a delay so it will run at 3am. It’s an easy way to save.