How to Lower Your Electric Bill

Guide · 6 min read · Updated July 2026

Most "save electricity" lists rank by ease. This one ranks by dollars — for a typical home paying $150/month, here's what each fix is actually worth, so you start where the money is. (Estimates assume $0.15/kWh; scale up if you pay more.)

Free — do these this week

  1. Check you're on the right plan ($5–40/mo). Divide your bill total by kWh used — that's your true rate. Then compare alternatives: time-of-use, EV tariffs, or a competitor. The plan comparison tool does the math on switching.
  2. Water heater to 120°F/49°C ($3–10/mo). Every 10°F cut saves 3–5% of water heating cost, and it's a one-time dial turn.
  3. Thermostat discipline ($10–40/mo in season). Each degree of heating or cooling setpoint is worth roughly 2–3% of that HVAC cost. 68°F winter / 78°F summer is the classic benchmark; a schedule (setback when out and asleep) does it automatically.
  4. Kill the phantom load ($5–15/mo). Standby electronics typically burn 50–100 W around the clock. Smart plugs or power strips on the TV stack and desk are the usual wins — price yours with the phantom load calculator.
  5. Cold wash + full loads ($3–8/mo). 80–90% of a washing machine's energy heats the water. Modern detergents don't need it.

Cheap — under $100, payback in months

  1. LED every remaining bulb ($3–15/mo). Each incandescent swapped saves ~$10/year at 5 h/day. If your home is already LED, skip; if not, this is the fastest payback in home energy.
  2. Seal the leaks ($5–20/mo in season). Weatherstripping, door sweeps, and outlet gaskets cut heating/cooling loss 5–10% in leaky homes, for ~$50 of materials.
  3. A plug-in power meter ($0 direct, finds the culprits). $15–25 buys certainty: measure the old garage fridge, the dehumidifier, the fish tank. One dying fridge compressor can be $20/mo on its own. Feed readings into the appliance cost calculator.

Investments — ranked by typical payback

  1. Heat pump water heater ($20–35/mo). If you have an electric tank heater, this cuts 300–400 kWh/month to ~100. Payback commonly 2–4 years with incentives.
  2. Heat pump for space heating ($30–80/mo in winter). Replacing resistance heat, savings run ~60–70%; replacing gas, it depends on local prices — check yours in the heat pump savings calculator before believing any brochure.
  3. Solar ($40–150/mo). The biggest lever if your rate is high and your roof is decent. At $0.25+/kWh, payback is often 5–8 years; at $0.10, it may never pencil. Run the solar savings calculator with a real quote.
  4. Efficient appliances — only at end of life. Replacing a working fridge rarely pays; choosing the efficient model when one dies always does. Compare candidates by their yearly kWh label × your rate.

The order of operations

Measure first (rebuild your bill to find the big loads), fix the free stuff this week, spend under $100 on the cheap fixes this month, and only then evaluate the big investments — with your own numbers, not averages. A $150 bill typically has $20–40/month of easy savings before any major purchase.