As rising costs continue to hit Americans’ pocketbooks, let’s highlight some easy ways that can help you save on your energy bill. A good place to start is knowing what your costs are, and whether they are trending up or down. Your cost per kilowatt hour (kWh) that you see on your energy bill can change independently of the other rates. In order to figure out your cost per kilowatt hour, take the electricity charge divided by the electricity used. This can help you figure out how much each kilowatt of energy costs.
Then start monitoring how much major household energy consumers are drawing. This can include: air conditioner, stove and oven, incandescent lights, televisions and your furnace during the winter. The geographical location of your home also has an impact on the energy bill. Many of us are in a rural area, so our houses are isolated. This allows our homes to be more affected by the environment. For those that live in an urban area, your homes are more protected and, if you live in an apartment, you can benefit from the floor above or beneath you. Alternatively, urban areas can also be subject to the urban heat island effect. This can increase temperatures and could result in higher energy costs.
Here are some additional tips to help save energy and money:
•Keep items that draw electricity turned off as long as possible.
•Use automatic settings to turn appliances on and off.
•Install LED lights instead of incandescent.
•Turn the lights off when not using them.
•Use fans to circulate cool air.
•Install and use a programmable thermostat.
•Install insulation or weather-stripping around doors and windows.
Information comes from Director of the Kansas Energy Program, David Carter.
For more information regarding Agriculture and Natural Resources, 4-H Youth Development, or K-State Research and Extension call the office at 620-583-7455, email me, Ben Sims, at [email protected], or stop by the office which is located inside the courthouse. Be sure to follow K-State Research and Extension- Greenwood County on Facebook for the most up-to-date information on Extension education programs and the Greenwood County 4-H program.
