Knowing certain things about how electrical systems work is not only potentially life-saving but economical as well. By economical, it means knowing why something electricity-related happens that leads to spikes in your monthly power bills and then being able to do something to correct it.
In today’s financially volatile economic situation due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, you need every dollar you can save from your regular electrical consumption to finance other essential needs such as food and clothing. You need to be wise and practical and in the case of addressing your high electricity bills, proactive as well.
Here are five reasons why your monthly power bills are in an upward trajectory and what you can do about them:
Faulty electrical appliances
If you have old (or even new) electrical appliances at home that you continue to use, you may not be aware that they are silently contributing to the inexplicable spike in your monthly power usage.
One or several of your appliances may be faulty, which causes them to suck in more energy than what is necessary to function. This extra power usage will, of course, translate into a higher power bill, which is an unnecessary waste of money by any standards.
The simple fix to this problem is to call in a licensed electrician specializing in providing residential electrical services to do a quick diagnostic of all your electrical appliances to check if the culprit is, indeed, a faulty appliance or two.
If the electrician finds out that an electrical appliance is already defective, then have it repaired if possible; if not, just discard it and buy a new one instead.
Poor insulation
Poorly insulated homes typically have a higher average monthly electrical consumption than homes that have excellent insulation. This is because, with poor insulation, the electrical appliances that help regulate indoor temperatures have to constantly work harder and consume higher amounts of electricity each time.
If this is the case, then you need to tap a professional insulation contractor to re-do your home’s insulation. Spray foam insulations are generally regarded as the ideal insulation type since they are energy-efficient, easy to maintain, weather-resistant, and versatile enough to be used on different surfaces.
Spray foam insulation may be costly at first but the monthly savings you’ll get will compound over time and would make the investment worth it. However, you need to work with the insulation contractor to determine the right type of spray foam to use, so you won’t encounter problems associated with the wrong insulation choice.
Faulty electrical wiring
Faulty electrical wiring doesn’t just cause residential fire, but also wallet fire: it burns deep holes in your pockets once the power bills arrive.
Some causes of the problem are animal bites and the sheer age of the wires. The wires underground could also get damaged due to ground shifting that could puncture the pipes protecting the wires.
Your trusted electrician is the best person to pinpoint the faulty electrical wires in your home. He’s also capable of replacing damaged wires to ensure that they can take the electrical loads of your appliances and be better protected against animal bites or ground shifts.
Phantom connection/vampire appliances
So, you’ve powered off your microwave oven and smart TV before heading off to dreamland. They shouldn’t be drawing in power because they’re already turned off, right? Well, not exactly.
This is because certain electrical and electronic appliances are designed to still draw in electricity even when they’re turned off, so they can quickly power on and function right after being powered on. So, even when you’ve turned them off but didn’t unplug them, they’ll still be consuming power, albeit silently.
The simple remedy to this is to buy a power strip and to plug your electrical and electronics appliances in them. This way, you only need to turn off and unplug the power strip to be sure that all the items plugged into it will not consume even a single watt of electricity.
Improper use of power-hungry appliances
Certain home appliances consume electricity higher than others. These power-hungry home appliances include clothes washers and dryers, as well as dishwashers and irons.
One of the sure-fire ways of racking up high power bills each month is to use these energy-guzzling appliances in complete abandon. An example would be to use the clothes washer without maximizing its load capacity.
The simple trick to prevent this problem is to use your power-hungry appliances more efficiently and responsibly. In the given example, instead of running the clothes washer at half capacity, choose to maximize its load each time before using it. This way, you’ll minimize the times you’ll use the appliance, which will translate to lower monthly power consumption.
Just follow these tricks and you’ll surely enjoy big savings on your power bills each time.
