18 Ways to Lower California Electric Bill

Electric charges can do some of the biggest damage to your budget possible if you don’t watch them. Before you know it, you can be paying $500, $700 or even more per month! I don’t know about you, but I don’t have that kind of money to just toss around. When my California electricity bill started to creep up beyond where I wanted it to be, I took action. The tips below are how to lower your California electric bill. Put them into play in your home and they should do quite well for your family too!

First,  you’ll need to take a look at your home to make sure that there are no drains on your power that you aren’t aware of. In my case, a closet light that we don’t use often had been on….for weeks. As a result, I was paying big bucks for lighting a closet that no one uses for anything other than storage. It may not seem like much, but that one light being on helped jump my California electricity bill over $50 the month that it was left on.

Next, take a walk through your home along the outside walls. Take note of any place that you can feel cold air coming in…even tiny drafts. Make sure you pay special attention to doors and windows, but also be on the lookout for places you wouldn’t expect. In my home? Oddly enough, my kitchen cabinets leak cold from the ground below it into the kitchen and I have 2 random closets that apparently are not sealed well that leak. The dryer vent or oven hoods can also be places that will let in cold air if they were not installed correctly. Once you have those places identified, it’s time to plug those leaks.

For doors that you don’t use often (like my closets), go ahead and seal them off for the winter. Use thick plastic sheeting, garbage bags, blankets or whatever you have. Next, you’ll want to tackle the smaller leaks. Things like the dryer vent can be fixed pretty easily. Fixing these leaks means that less of your heat is running away. If the heat is staying in your home, it will lower your California electric bill.

• You might qualify for an income-based discount through your power company. So Cal Edison will offer a percentage off to lower your California electricity bill if you qualify. 

For us, these were the two biggest factors that helped to lower my California electric bill. However, there are other things you can do if you want to lower your California electricity bill  even more! Things like:

• Changing your light bulbs to CFL’s
• Turning your furnace or a/c off for part of the day (or all day if you’re brave!)
• Using a crockpot to cook most of your meals
• Turning your water heater down (less power to heat the water up)
• Unplugging all of your appliances and electronics when they’re not being used
• Limiting the TV to only an hour or two each day
• Making sure your freezer is filled full (it will work better)
• Making sure your fridge is NOT packed full (better circulation)
• Not using your exhaust fan when you’re cooking
• Not running ceiling fans when you’re not in the room. They do nothing when no one is there to feel them so there’s no reason for it.
• Use low watt bulbs in hallways and bathrooms at night instead of regular ones.
• Ban dryer use from your house. Use clothes drying rack or line instead.
• Close off rooms that you’re not using and make them off-limits. Shut the vents so you aren’t heating or cooling them, close the door then plug the gap between the door and the floor.
• Make sure that all of your walls are insulated properly. If not, fix that. It will take some money to do it now but you’ll save big in the long run.

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