8 Ways To Save Energy With Your Appliances

While we can help you find lower electricity rates, there are tons of little things you can do in your house and with your appliances to use less energy, and save more money on your bill.

 Make sure that your appliances are energy star. It may seem counterintuitive, but buying a new, more efficient appliance might actually save you money in the long run if it uses far less energy.

Keeping your refrigerator coils clean can help it run more efficiently

  Clean refrigerator coils, air conditioner filters, and the dryer filter. Loads of dust buildup can prevent all of these appliances from functioning efficiently, causing them to be more energy hogs than they should be.

   Consider air drying your dishes. While using a dishwasher can actually consume less water then doing the dishes by hand, a ton of energy is used in the dry cycle. Think about pausing the dishwasher after the rinsing is done, and then letting the dishes air dry, or drying them by hand.

   Turn off fans when you leave the room. Including bathroom and kitchen fans, which many people leave on much longer than necessary. You can save a lot of energy by making sure to turn the fans off when you are done cooking, or when you leave the bathroom.

   Use the microwave or toaster oven more often. If you are reheating food, it can often be done a lot more efficiently by using the microwave or a toaster oven, rather than your larger full-size over. And if you do need to use the big oven, checking on your food but turning on the interior light rather than opening the door will keep the temperature from dropping, requiring the oven to reheat itself less often.

   Wash your clothes with cold water. The biggest energy consumption from a washing machine comes from heating the water for the wash cycle. If you are doing casual loads, with clothes that aren’t too dirty, consider washing them on cold, and saving energy.

   Dry one load right after another. This way you get to reuse some of the heat from the previous dryer cycle, which saves on energy.

  Get a smart power strip at put a stake through the heart of energy vampires! Did you know that your appliances and electronics can consume a lot of energy when they are on sleep mode or even when they are turned off? Smart power strips help by shutting off the flow of electricity to electronics that are on sleep mode, or allow you to put them on timers, or even control them from your smartphone!