Why Is My Electric Bill So High
Among other expenses that reap off most of our salaries and investments are electricity bills. Sometimes they come so high on your neck and you may be in a financial crisis and you may wonder how it came to be so high. Just like anything else, your electricity usage has to be monitored to ensure fair usage. The secret lies within how you utilize your power and the type of devices you use, their maintenance, and the longevity of use daily. Our homes may be graced with high quality and modern electrical appliances and we sometimes wonder why our bills are escalating. No more worries. You have just landed your gaze of the right piece as we go into further details to tell you why your electric bill could be going higher.
1. Idle Appliances
If you are experiencing increased power consumption and consequently increased electricity bills, it could be because you leave some appliances running on when they are not in use. You need to note that any device left plugged in throughout the day continues to use energy even if they are not in active use. This will cost you as they add up substantially to increased power consumption. You need to unplug all vampires and idle appliances from the sockets to avoid this problem. If not monitored, you will continue to have unusual electric bills
2. Poor Location And Use Of Lights And Fans At Home
Unnecessary and poorly located electric fans and lights could be great items sucking away your power when they should not be. These devices will waste your electricity if you locate them in positions where their roles might not be necessary. Why not consider reducing their number to cut expenses on power? Also leaving lights on all day when they should be off could be the reason you are encountering unusual electric bills. Switch them off when their services and functionality are not necessary to reduce power consumption and save your power
3. Bulbs That Consume A Lot Of Power
If you are using bulbs that are not energy efficient, rest assured this will waste a lot of your power and increase your electric bills consequently. You need to install bulbs that are efficient enough to save on energy consumption without compromising quality. Some bulbs can use a lot of power while others can use a small amount of electricity yet they serve the same roles. Why not go for those that will save you electricity expenses. As a recommendation, LED light bulbs are known to be 99% energy efficient compared to traditional bulbs that whisk away a lot of power.
4. Poor Insulation
If your house is poorly insulated, you will have to spend an intense amount of electric power to heat it. This will cost you a lot of power. You should consider installing modern windows and doors that have proper insulation to minimize power usage when heating your house during cold conditions and seasons. In a nutshell, proper insulation will help to maintain comfortable temperatures in your room and turn reduces and save on electric energy you would otherwise use to warm it up.
5. Use Of Old And Outdated Appliances
Technology improves with efficiency when it comes to work and power consumption. If you do not keep track of these developments you can lag and waste a lot of power in old devices. This will increase your expenses on power. Consider going for modern appliances that are power efficient and conserving. You could recycle such appliances and earn something from them or permanently remove them to install modern and energy-saving ones.
6. Small Scale Use Of Large Appliances
Dishwasher and washing machines are great inventions that have helped ease our home chores. These appliances, however, could be great instruments of heavy power consumption. If you wash clothes or dishes bits by bits, you will have to turn them on and off regularly to wash them again. This will consume a lot of energy and increase your electric bills unusually. If possible, you could accommodate them and do the cleaning once, fasters, and efficiently. The point is, your appliances should be filled.
7. Overcharging And Unnecessary Charging For Devices
If you leave appliances and electric devices such as phones and torches charging when they are full you drain a lot of power. For instance, if you leave your laptop or computer plugged in over the night, apart from potentially ruining these devices, they drain a lot of power in the event leading to increased electric bills. You need to be alert and aware of charging times to avoid such cases where you leave devices plugged in or to overcharge. This will save on your power consumption and tone down electric bills.
8. Poor use of Air conditioner
There is a trick that lies within the air conditioner. To keep your room cold and refreshed, you can turn on the air conditioner. It will be wrong, however, to turn it on when the windows are open. Use one and leave the other. Windows are great instruments of cooling the house and keeping it refreshed. When the windows are open, to save on electricity that would otherwise be used to run the air conditioner, consider turning it off.
9. Plugged In Devices
Plenty of people do not know that when appliances and plugged in no matter being turned off will still suck in power. You could be unaware of this as you still encounter unusual electric bills. You might consider, for maximum efficiency, that you unplug all devices even after turning them off. This will help to avoid stray electric leakage and save your power expenditure.
10. Extreme Cold Weather
During extremely cold winter, there is a high possibility of using an immense amount of power to warm up your room. This adds up to high and unusual electric bills. You have to improve ventilation and clothing to maintain comfortable temperatures and reduce the extent of power consumption using your heating appliances.
Final Words
It is possible to have unusual electric bills due to some of the cases mentioned here. However, it is still possible to identify the flaws in your home that lead to such increased power consumption and put inefficient measures to curb them. This largely saves your money that would otherwise be spent paying for increased electric bills.