You don’t have to live in Texas for long to realize that the summer heat here can kill your electricity bill. An energy consultation can always help with specific ways you can utilize your home more efficiently, but these general tips are quick ways you can help the impact this summer has on your utilities.

It sounds like complete common sense, but one way to save energy is to have all your appliances unplugged. Even when appliances are just switched “off” they still use 75% of your electricity.

How you use your household appliances also has a major effect on electricity. A front loading washing machine uses 25% less energy than a standard model. Also with laundry, using warm or cold water settings instead of hot water can save 4% off your electricity. After washing, line drying your clothes can save another 5%.

With your dishwasher, you actually use more water hand washing dishes than you do running the dishwasher. And since you’re going to be running the dishwasher now anyways, make sure it’s full! A dishwasher at 90% capacity uses 4 units of electricity, while a dishwasher at 50% capacity still uses 3 units – so a full dishwasher is much more energy efficient than a mostly empty one.

After the dishes and clothes are all clean, there’s still one major appliance you can use more efficiently – the refrigerator. Keeping the fridge full of food helps it from warming up too fast when the door is open, so it doesn’t have to work as hard to stay cool.

On top of these appliance tips, it’s also important to think about air flow in your house. You can save 1-3 percent per degree for each degree the thermostat is set above 72. So if you’re heading out of the house for the weekend bump up the temperature to 85 to save on cooling costs. Also be sure to replace dirty air filters to save another 1-2%. Another big way to save is to have your ducts tested for any leaks or restrictions. Leaking duct work account for 25% of cooling costs in the average home, and duct cleaning is not the same as duct testing which should be done by a qualified contractor.

You may also enjoy: