Are you tired of getting high electric bills? Well there is something you can do about the high cost of energy.
The first thing you need to do is to identify area's were energy can be saved. One easy source to identify is lighting. This can be done by replacing conventional light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. They typically use 75% less energy than regular bulb. Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFL) also last six times longer. But they do cost more to purchase. To learn more, click on About CFL.

The next thing to look at is appliances around the home. When it comes time to replace an aging appliance be sure to look for a ENERGY STAR rated appliance. Energy Star rated appliances use less energy so they cost less to operate. Here is a picture of a front loading washing machine. They use less water than a conventional washing machine. They also spin at speeds up to 1000 RPM's. This extracts more water out of the clothes during the final spin cycle. With less water in the laundry will result in faster dry times.
You should also be aware that any appliance that uses a remote control or has a clock built into. Even though the appliance is not in use it will still use some energy. This power is needed to power the remote control circuit, or digital clock. This type of load is called a phantom load. It's important to eliminate, or reduce these types of loads. Because of being on all the time the power usage does add up. To reduce this load you can plug such devices into a power strip that has a power switch on it. By simply turning off the switch will eliminate the phantom load. Be aware not to plug high current devices like microwaves and air conditioners into a power strips. Most are not made to handle the high current draw from these devices.

When you get your electric bill it doesn't list how all the energy was used. In order to figure out were all the energy is going; you will need to perform an energy audit. Just like when you add up your check book balance. You can do the same thing by adding up your electric consumption. For example let say you have a porch light that uses two 60 watt bulbs, and they are on 12 hours every night. To figure out how much energy is being used will require a little math. Total watts = (60 watts) x 2 = 120 watts. Total power used in kilo watt hours. (120 watts) x (12 hours) x (30 days) / 1000 = 43.2 KWH. If your power company charges you 8 cents a kilowatt hour, it would cost you $3.45 every month. Replace these with 14 watts Compact Fluorescent's the cost would be 81 cents every month. You would save $2.64 by replacing your old light bulbs in this example. Compact Fluorescent bulbs sell for as cheep as $3.00 each. Rebates can also reduce the price down to $1.00. So in as little as two months you can recover your cost.