If you are trying to reduce a monthly budget consider looking at energy/electricity usage. You have control over how much electricity you use, which gives you the opportunity to decrease your monthly energy bills.
You can accomplish this by reconsidering when to use your appliances such as your dishwasher, or running water whether it be for handwashing dishes, showers, laundry, etc.
Typically, when everyone gets home from work, around 5pm-6pm every night is considered peak times. The time frame of peak times and off-peak times are important to understand when you are trying to reduce your energy costs.
Peak and Non-Peak Times
It is indeed cheaper to use your energy sources at night during the off-peak hours when there is less of a demand for energy. That means that the early mornings could be considered an off-peak time frame, while everyone is still sleeping. The peak times depend on your country & the company you use to monitor your energy usage.
With a little research, you can find your energy company’s recommended peak times & non-peak times. Most electric companies charge less for electricity during off-peak hours, which generally fall between 10pm–6am.
To confirm your non-peak times, contact energy company. If you are struggling to save money on your electricity bill, ask your energy company if you need a dual-rate meter or a smart meter. By upgrading your meter you will be able to better identify when you use the most energy.
The best ways take advantage of this
When you find the peak hours from your energy company, then you can then determine the best times to run your high-energy appliances. Consider starting your dishwasher or washing machine right before you go to sleep, charging your electronics or electric vehicle overnight, and generally just keeping your electronic usage down until after 9pm.
Following this advice can make small saving each day that will add up to huge monthly savings on your energy bills.
How Much Money Can Be Saved?
A lot of the appliances use standby power. We always have them plugged in, even when they’re not being used. Appliances on stand-by power account for 5%-10% of residential energy use.
Some of these appliances include:
- Kettles
- Mobile phone chargers
- Printers
- Laptops Chargers
- TV’s
- Gaming systems
- DVD/Blu-ray Players
- Cable Box
- Wi-Fi
- Microwaves
- Thermostats
If you unplug or set automatic timers on just a few of your stand-by appliances, you could save up to £100/annually. Just having a programmable thermostat could save up to £180/annually.
Conclusion
Massive savings can be made by simply increasing your awareness about where all the smaller savings can be made.
You can reduce your energy bills by making lots of small lifestyle changes and investing in products that increase your energy usage efficiency. Find out more about ways to make these kinds of savings from some of our other articles.
