Energy Savings

Conserve and Save: The Best Recommended Energy-Saving Tips

The best energy saving tips range from simple lifestyle adjustments and small repairs to larger investments. But there’s one thing they all have in common: They save energy and reduce energy bills.

We’ve packed this energy saving guide with energy efficiency ideas that will help you save money and reduce energy use in homes and businesses alike.

Why Energy Efficiency Is Important?

Before we get into why energy efficiency is essential, let’s first take a look at just how much energy we’re consuming. The United States’ 2018 expenditure on energy was $3,891 per person, including money spent on energy used in businesses, offices, homes, transport, and industry.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what that looks like:

• Petroleum products (such as diesel, motor gasoline, jet fuel): 58%
• Electricity, including natural gas, coal, nuclear, renewables: 32%
• Natural gas: 12%
• Coal: 2%

Transport is the most significant user of energy (47%), followed by residential use (21%), industrial use (17%), and finally commercial (15%).

Many of these energy sources come from fossil fuels, emitting greenhouse gases into the Earth’s atmosphere and contributing to climate change. There’s a powerful environmental argument that we need to reduce our use of fossil fuels.

Energy Efficiency Is Good for Your Bank Balance

Along with the environmental costs, energy consumption comes at a cost to your wallet. The average U.S. price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in November 2020 was 13.35 cents per kWh (residential) and 10.59 cents per kWh (commercial). The average monthly electricity bills for homeowners were between $75.63 (Utah) and (Connecticut) $150.71, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) 2019 report.

Gas is expensive to install in the United States but cheaper for running a home. For instance, let’s compare the American Gas Association’s* 2019 average monthly gas bill with the average 2019 electricity bill:
*(The AGA link mention previously shows the average residential gas bill by state. We divided this annual cost to obtain a monthly rate)

• Texas: $42.08 (gas) vs. $134.07 (electricity)
• Colorado: $50.92 vs. $83.07
• New York: $92.75 vs. $103.06

In the home, heating and cooling homes represent the most considerable energy cost, accounting for 47% of energy use. Heating hot water is next at 14%, followed by washers and dryers at 13%, and lighting at 12%