There are many ways in which you can reduce your overall electricity usage in order to cut down on your monthly bills, and stop wasting energy in your household; the best part being that you won’t have to go without in order to do so. Read through some of these top tips to start reducing your electricity usage now.

It’s important to consider how you can make the most of the appliances in your home without wasting valuable energy, increasing your monthly costs and adding to climate change. Simple solutions can be put in place to prevent these things from happening; it might require a slight change in your normal routine or a small compromise but in the long run it’s going to benefit you greatly.

If you are currently relying on electricity to heat your home, it might be well worth considering changing to something a little more cost efficient such as gas or oil, especially for households situated in colder climates where you are more than likely to use your heating more often.

Your refrigerator is responsible for using almost 20% of your household electricity, so it’s crucial to take on board some significant ways to reduce this electricity usage. By using a thermometer to test the temperatures inside the fridge, try changing the temperature inside your fridge to a milder 3 degrees Celsius/ 37 degrees Fahrenheit and your freezer to -16 degrees Celsius/ 3 degrees Fahrenheit which will make it easier for your refrigerator to operate and use less energy in the process. It’s also a good idea to defrost your freezer regularly to maintain efficiency.

Other appliances that can be adjusted to reduce electricity usage include the washing machine and dishwasher. Set your washing machine to lower temperatures when you are using it, most washing machines will have a cold wash setting, and if not there should be a dial to reduce the temperature of the washing machine.

Ensure that your dishwasher is full before you use it (rinse your dishes before placing in the dishwasher to prevent any stagnant smells emerging until its full) and if possible use an energy saving setting on your dishwasher too, potentially decreasing roughly 20% of its electricity use.

If you are replacing older appliances, choose more energy efficient models when you do. Investing in such products could prevent roughly 1.4 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year, along with being more cost effective for you.

Smaller appliances are at risk of wasting just as much electricity as larger appliances. Be sure to change your money wasting and electricity burning habits with them too. Changing your light bulbs from incandescent to energy saving light bulbs can make a huge difference to your normal electricity usage. Even though it may seem expensive to purchase energy saving bulbs instead of regular bulbs, they are proven to run using only a quarter of the energy used in a regular bulb as well as lasting up to 12 times longer.

Simple ways to reduce electricity, which you might have never considered in the past include switching off appliances at the electricity socket when you finish using them; avoid leaving appliances on standby; unplugging chargers from the electricity socket when your device is fully charged.

These small changes around your home will benefit you in the long term, so starting switching off and turning down things around your home now and start to see a difference in the amount of electricity you use.

Dave MacKinder writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.