By Dermound Becker
Special to Relocation.com
Soaring oil prices worldwide and many other global factors have had a direct impact on how much we pay for our utilities. This has caused a rise in prices across various electrical services from cable to Internet services. Below are a few tips on how to cut the costs of your electrical bills and save the environment in the process.
Turn off the lights. A very basic step is to switch off all lights when nobody is in the room. You should also raise the thermostat on the air conditioner or lower the thermostat on the heating unit by three to five degrees – both of which really make a difference to your monthly bill and after a short while, you will not notice the difference, probably in the region of 30 percent less consumption.
Use CFL bulbs. The new CFL light bulbs really do cut electricity consumption – and are more ecology friendly than older bulbs. Although these light bulbs are more costly to purchase than regular bulbs, they last for a very long time, thus you save on replacement costs; and they use much less electricity, so they are a win-win option.
Unplug electrical gadgets. Electrical and electronic items and gadgets all use electricity even when they are turned off. Those tiny pilot lights on your computer and television which remain on even after you have switched them off for the night show that they are still consuming electricity, so the answer is to unplug all of these electrical and electronic items and gadgets – except, of course, your refrigerator.
Switch to a laptop. Laptop computers use less energy than an ordinary television set, so it is a good idea to switch off your TV and watch all your favorite programs, DVDs and movies on your laptop.
All of these tips are guaranteed to save you a lot of money – some people report savings of around 40 percent on their electricity bills – so they should not be sneezed at, as over a period of one year you will be able to see just how much you can save. A bright idea indeed!