The average electric bill for apartments runs between $50-$90 a month. There are a number of factors that determine how much you pay. Most of them are in your control.
As rent prices continue to rise across the country, you’ll want to know how to save money on electric bill in apartments.
Are you ready to find out how you can save money on your electric bill? Read on to learn a few quick tips that you can do right now to lower your electric bill.
1. Lower the Thermostat a Couple of Degrees
A couple of degrees can make a huge difference in your electricity bill. If you have electric heat in your apartment, that will be the biggest contributor to your electricity costs.
You may want to keep it at a comfortable 70 or 72 degrees all of the time. That’s going to turn into a pretty large electric bill, even for a tiny apartment.
You can keep the temperature a couple of degrees lower all the time, or you can lower the temperature when you’re not there and when you’re sleeping.
2. Talk to Your Landlord
Have a conversation with your landlord about ways they can make the apartment energy efficient. They’ll be reluctant at first because they think that upgrades will cost money.
You have to make the conversation about dollars and cents. Not for your electric bill, but for your landlord’s wallet. It’s important to be able to show that there’s a return on investment on these upgrades.
Solar panels can be installed and the landlord can reap the benefits of tax credits. They can also increase the value of the building and rental value.
3. Get an Energy Audit
In order to save money on your energy bills, you should identify where your energy is being wasted. There might be window drafts or door drafts that are causing your bills to go up.
Some nonprofit organizations and energy companies started to partner with public libraries to provide home energy audits. The libraries have basic energy kits that can help you find the energy leaks in your home.
These energy audit kits cost a small about of money and they’re easy to use. The Brooklyn Public Library is one such library that has energy kits.
4. Change Your Cooking Habits
Apartments usually have electric stoves. Electric stoves are behind electric heat as a contributor to your electric bills. That doesn’t mean that you should stop cooking.
You can change how you cook. Investing in a slow cooker or pressure cooker can help you lower your electric bills because they don’t use a lot of energy to work.
Get something like an electric kettle, which heats up water faster than a pot on the stove.
How to Save Money on Electric Bill in Apartments
It’s not that difficult to learn how to save money on electric bill in apartments. You do have to take a few steps to lower your bill.
You can check to see where the energy leaks are, talk to your landlord about upgrades, and lower your thermostat by a few degrees.
Head over to the DIY section for more do-it-yourself tips.