The electricity bill arrived at the end of the month too high? Find out which are the main appliances that consume the most energy in your home.
In 2020, electricity consumption represented 43% of total household consumption in Texas, corresponding to around 70% of energy expenditure for different uses at home. It was in the kitchen and household appliances that this consumption was most significant.
Although the power and efficiency of the equipment directly influence the consumption associated with its use, changing habits can help to reduce this value. Good use management, both with regard to household appliances, air conditioning equipment, and lighting, are measures that can help save money. Likewise, buying from trusted Texas electricity companies that offer cheap electricity can also help save cash.
Some Appliances That Use the Most Energy for Houses
Electric heater
Electric heaters (fan heaters, oil radiators, among others) must be used occasionally and for reduced heating needs. The initial investment is lower, installation is not required, and maintenance is almost non-existent. But the energy costs can be very high if you use them regularly. Avoid placing the heaters near windows so that the heat does not dissipate more easily to the outside, and do not place anything in front of them.
To save money with the portable electric heater, avoid prolonged use and, if possible, set the thermostat to a minimum. When you are not using the equipment, disconnect it from the mains, thus avoiding standby consumption.
Improving the house’s thermal insulation is the first step towards making it more comfortable and efficient. Applying or reinforcing thermal insulation on walls and roofs, as well as replacing windows with more efficient ones, brings immediate gains in thermal and acoustic comfort and reduces energy needs to heat or cool rooms. By reducing thermal exchanges with the outside, air conditioning equipment will be less, reducing associated energy consumption.
Fridge
Some precautions when choosing, installing, storing, and maintaining the refrigerator help to save energy.
- Choose a fridge-freezer instead of a model, which consumes much more. Choose a model with the right size for your needs. Having the fridge constantly half-empty generates useless energy consumption.
- Models with the “no frost” system do not require periodic defrosting of the freezer compartment. If you don’t have one of these devices, defrost the compartment every six months and clean the ventilation grilles to save energy.
- Install cooling equipment away from heat sources. For example, the refrigerator consumes more energy near a radiator or an oven.
- Arrange the fridge and freezer logically, so you can quickly find what you want and close the appliance door right away.
- Set the thermostat to a temperature between 41 and 45ºF in the refrigerator compartment and -1ºF in the freezer compartment.
- Check the condition of the rubber gaskets on the doors and clean them regularly with dishwashing liquid or white vinegar. Dry well.
Washing machine and dryer
The consumption of the washing machine and dryer depends, above all, on the programs used, namely the temperature, since the stage that heats the water is the one that consumes the most energy for houses. To save, follow some tips.
- Wash clothes at 86 or 104°F (warm) instead of using 140°F (hot) programs, even if some garments have difficult stains. In this case, it is preferable to pre-treat the stains.
- For lightly soiled clothes, use short programs, reduce the detergent dose, and program the machine to “skip” the prewash. This step is time-consuming and unnecessary, as detergents are currently very effective.
- Add enough laundry to fill the machine instead of using the half-load program. A full charge uses less than half the water and electricity than two half-load cycles.
- Use the clothesline instead of the dryer whenever the weather permits. If, during the winter, you go from using it three times a week to just one, you can save around 104 kWh at the end of the year. If a dryer is essential, choose a model equipped with heat pump technology, as energy consumption per wash cycle is about half that of less efficient models.
- Always run the dryer with a full load and after spinning at 1000 or 1200 revolutions per minute to shorten the drying program.
- Avoid over drying clothes.
How To Know How Much Energy Consumes an Appliance?
Choosing more efficient appliances and using small and large appliances are the main measures to save energy costs at home.
When choosing new equipment, pay attention to the energy label to compare the consumption of appliances in the same category and choose the most efficient ones. Before you buy, check out our comparator and simulator tests. In this way, you can see the performance of each piece of equipment, the actual energy consumption, and prices in stores.
The savings in residential electricity consumption that the energy efficiency of equipment provides is sometimes canceled out by their unnecessary use. No matter how efficient and sparing it may be, any equipment should be turned off whenever possible. Leaving equipment running during periods when it is not being used, however economical, leads to an unnecessary increase in overall consumption and, consequently, energy costs.
How To Get Cheap Electricity in Texas
As discussed earlier, the high consumption problem may be due to something other than the appliance we use in our homes. Sometimes, getting electricity from suppliers with high prices can be a fact to consider. In cases like this, purchases are usually exhausted in a few days, pushing us back to a quick repurchase.
You may be caught in this scenario without cash and need an urgent electricity connection back to the grid the same day. What you can do is get electricity without a deposit and prepay your energy. You may be wondering if this is possible in Texas. Yes! It is with Electricity Express, and you’ll even get it cheaper than your current supplier.
This way, you can consume more energy for a longer period at a more affordable rate, so what are you waiting for? Contact us at Electricity Express today for a cheap urgent electricity connection the same day.
Also Read: Top Questions To Consider During Debt Consolidation.
