5 Areas You Can Look Into To Help You Lower Your Utility Bills Against Cost Of Living Raises

1. Kill Vampire Appliances

Turn off all electrical appliances and power mains when not in use or they could be "electricity vampires". Appliances continue to consume small amount of energy even when they are "turned off". It is estimated that standby power ranges from 10 and 15 watts, and sometimes more.

Alone, the standby power wasted by a single appliance may seem small, but an average home easily has more than half a dozen of such "vampires". Although figures vary, studies in the United States, France, Australia and Japan have estimated that standby power can form as much as 7 to 13 percent of total household consumption! Given the recent increased tariffs on electricity, isn't it sensible to turn off unused appliances and power mains?

2. Time Your Cooling

During summer, many household will turn on the air conditioners to cool down the houses. Well, a good suggestion is to use its timer function and set it to turn off after a few hours - you'll be asleep anyway. The fewer hours you use, the greater the energy savings. Don't know how to work the timer? Read the manual, or enlist the help of a techie friend. To ensure you'll sleep in comfort, set the temperature no lower than 25 degree Celsius, but use a fan for additional cooling.

3. Watt Savings

Another energy saver is to swap incandescent light bulbs to energy saving compact fluorescent light bulbs which use 70% to 80% less energy. While they are more expensive, they can outlast regular ligh bulbs. Because they burn brighter, you only need a lower wattage, thus saving energy. For example if you replace 10 of your 60-watt light bulbs at home with 10 15-watt compact fluorescent light bulb, you can save an estimated $280 a year.

Other bright ideas. Arrange lighting around you the house to maximise efficiency and use light reflectors in your lighting fixtures to make the most of the light. Also consider using dimmers to control the amount of lighting required. Compact fluorescent bulbs also run coolers so it won't heat up your home too much and resulting in using more energy to cool it.

4. Wash Wisely

There are lots of small things you can do, such as turning off the water when soaping in the shower or keeping bath-time down to 5 minutes. You can also use a thimble in your shower head to cut water use down from 9 litres to 7.5 litres in a minute. When using the washing machine, ensure that it's a full load or set the water level to match the amount of laundry. You may also want to pre-soak heavily soiled garments before washing them. You can also save the water from the final rinse cycle to mop the floor.

5. Cook Smart

It's often cheaper to eat at home, but cooking too can suck up a lot of wasted energy in gas and electricity. Make sure that you choose the right sized refrigerator for your family size, and where possible, buy an energy efficient brand. Also make sure that the gasket is tight to prevent warmer air from seeping into the fridge.

When cooking, plan well so that the stove is not turned on when it's not being used. And to make the best of the heat from the stove, use sturdy flat-bottomed pans that have high conductivity. It's also a good idea to keep your stovetop clean as blackened ranges absorb heat and reduce the efficiency of your burner. When making soups and stews, use a pressure cooker as they require less energy for heating.

Hope those few tips can help you shave some money off your monthly utility bills. In the process, you can also helping to conserve the environment and doing your part of in the fight against global warming.