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The relationship between lowering energy consumption, saving money, and saving the planet is surprisingly simple and direct. You don’t pay for electricity that you did not use from the power grid. Every unit that you did not use from the grid also shrinks your home’s total carbon emission and energy consumption rate by a tiny bit.

However, just because the connection is simple and direct in concept, does not mean it’s just as easy to implement in real life. In a time when electricity is slowly starting to replace natural gas and petroleum-derived fuels, how does one go about lowering their electricity bills? As it turns out, there are quite a few ways to do so effectively, and we are going to share them with you next.

Generate Your Own Electricity

If we were able to harness and store 100% of the sun’s energy that reaches planet earth in one second, it would be sufficient to serve the entire modern world (as it was in 2021) for roughly seven years!

  • One second of solar energy reaching earth = roughly 173 petawatts
  • One petawatt = 1000 terawatts, which means 173 petawatts = 173000 terawatts
  • The earth’s total energy consumption grew at an unprecedented rate in 2021, going past 25300 terawatts

Take a minute to consider the fact that energy would be free forever for everyone in existence if we had the technology to harness even a fraction of the yellow dwarf star’s daily gift for just a few seconds each day.

Although it will probably take a long, long time before humans can get anywhere close to harnessing such power, we do have the technology available right now to generate our own electricity. The sun won’t send you a bill and modern solar PV arrays are considerably more affordable and efficient than their predecessors.

Install a small solar array on the roof/garden for starters and see how much of an impact it has on lowering your electricity bills. Supplement your solar array with a small windmill on the roof if possible since the UK generates more electricity from the wind than the sun for now.

Get a Smart Charger for Your Car

Over the coming years, fully electric and hybrid vehicles will almost completely replace petroleum-powered vehicles. Chances are that you already use one or more electric or hybrid vehicles right now. Unfortunately, it will take quite some time before we can expect to see the price of electricity come down.

In the meanwhile, use a smart charger to cut down on your electricity bills. Smart chargers can be easily programmed with off-peak timings for the home charge point. Once you set it up, your smart charger will automatically maximise the lowered cost/unit offered during the off-peak hours, increasing charge time and speed to finish as much of the charging as possible during those pre-set hours.

Asses Your Appliances

We use so many electronic appliances at home nowadays that a rise in electricity consumption is inevitable. However, a proper assessment of every electronic home appliance you have can potentially reduce electrical consumption quite drastically. Room heating systems, electrical ovens/fryers/hobs, water heaters, dishwashers, washing machines, and blenders consume more units per month in the average British household, than any other electronic device.

You can reduce their electricity consumption rates by opting for four or five star rated appliances. If you have any home appliance that’s more than five years old at this point, chances are that its electrical-efficiency architecture is outdated. Getting a newer, more eco-friendly appliance model could reduce your monthly bills considerably. Most modern electronic appliances come with built-in software nowadays to help the homeowner save electricity.

Don’t Use Overkill Gadgets

If you are a coder who also loves gaming and has interest in content creation, you probably have a neat and sleek setup, complete with a powerful PC and a large monitor. Chances are that you have a lot more than that, but here’s the question to consider: do you need to use that same PC for everything? If you are coding on a PC that’s equipped to run the latest 3D designing software at 4K without a hitch, you are wasting money and energy! 

The idea is to match your specific needs with gadgets you buy or use. Not everyone is a software developer of course, but a high percentage of computer users rely on overkill PCs and gadgets to do things that do not need even a fraction of the power that their monitors and PCs consume. Shift to a laptop for work and entertainment, and only use that power-hungry desktop when and if you need it.

Finally, in case you are still using CFL or incandescent bulbs for some reason, it’s really time that you changed over to LED. LEDs are nowhere as toxic, and they consume a lot less power than their predecessors. You may also want to install a few dimmer switches while at it to better control your lighting costs.

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