How to Lower Utility Bills Even if You Rent
You know that crummy feeling you get when the price of your favorite products go up fifty cents at the grocery store? It’s kind of the same way we felt when we got power bills in the United States.* We knew we were probably paying for energy that we didn’t even need.
As renters, we didn’t have control over the amount of insulation in our walls or the efficiency of our windows and appliances. But we could control a lot of other things. So wether you’re a renter or homeowner, here’s the list of top priority things Martin and I always do at each new home to chop our utility bills.
*In Germany, billing is projected for the upcoming year. You can’t analyze one month’s bill to improve the next, so practices like these tips are especially important to avoid a shocking bill at the end of the year’s cycle.
Six Quick Projects We Think Are Worth Every Second
1. Install a programable thermostat.
We actually carried around our own programable thermostat. We’d take down the cheap manual thermostat on the wall of our rental house and put up our own. It was super easy to do and cost about $30. Our power company offered rebates to homes with programable thermostats, so we just filled out a quick form and copied our receipt. A couple weeks later, we got a rebate check to cover the bill. Call your power company and ask them about a rebate program.
Total time: 15 minutes. Total cost: $0
2. Set and use said programable thermostat.
Most landlords don’t bother to install these thermostats. It isn’t always because of the cost (obviously, since ours was free). They don’t bother because – get this – most tenants don’t even set them. We know a property manager who says that none of his tenants have ever set the programable thermostats. They just leave the manuals poking out of the thermostats, and he’s gone in for maintenance to find the houses set to 80 degrees in the winter while everyone was gone for the day. Why not use what you’ve got if it can save you money? Keep the house cooler at night and when you’re at work.
Total time: less than 5 minutes. Total cost savings: double digits depending on how hot you like it, baby!
3. Check your air filter.
If your home is heated by forced air, check the filter. Some landlords do this. If yours doesn’t, you’d better hurry and do it. A clogged filter drastically decreases the efficiency of the heat that makes it into your ducts. Might as well get the heat you’re paying for, right?
Total time: less than 5 minutes. Total cost: $3
4. Invest in thick curtains.
A lot of houses don’t have thick, efficient windows. They cost more. If you can feel cold air by your windows in the winter or feel like you’re going to pass out from the heat coming through your windows in the summer, get thick curtains. I sewed some for our first apartment and made them floor length so we could use them in future apartments.
Total time: how fast do you shop or sew? Total cost: $50 – $100
5. Replace the light bulbs you use the most.
Within days of moving in somewhere, Martin would walk around our new house with two buckets. We had a bucket of “our” lightbulbs that were energy efficient CFLs (check out our lightbulb guide here) and a bucket for the super cheap and super electricity guzzling bulbs that came with the house. He would switch the bulbs to our efficient ones. When we moved out, he’d switch them all back. We managed to snag eight free bulbs at a energy efficiency event our power company was holding. We got rebates and bought the rest in bulk. Contact your power company for similar events. They’re annual in many communities.
Total time: 2 minutes per fixture. Total cost savings: $6 per bulb each year
6. Open the vents.
You’d be surprised by how many people complain how cold rooms are… only to discover that the vents in that room are all closed. We take a few minutes to make sure that they are open. If we don’t need a particular room to get as much heat (like our bedroom), we’ll close the vents a little. This picture is from a forced air system. It’s the same idea with radiators on your hot water heating system.
Total time: 10 seconds. Total cost: nadda
I love it when being green means saving money. Or saving money means being green. Whichever! It’s all good. Have any pointers we can all add to this list and save a little as utilities go up and the economy goes down?
In the mood for saving more money? Check out our list of things that won’t lower your utility bills and our trick for reusing old birthday cards!
March 8th, 2009 at 6:42 am
Love this list Katie. I wish I could sew like you! But I do have heavy store bought curtains on most of our windows! We have a programmable thermostat but don’t program it because I like to be able to adjust the temp all the time…we do make sure to lower/raise the temp at night and when we’re out of the house. And I can’t tell you how many times Matt has responded with “well did you check to see if the vents are open” when I complain about the temp. Doh! No, I didn’t and yep they were closed. :)
March 8th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
In the winter, we use our wood stove as much as possible, and turn down the gas heat as low as 56 degrees Fahrenheit. Since we use wood that we got for free, the cost is nothing!
March 9th, 2009 at 10:11 am
Thanks for the great list Katie!!!
March 11th, 2009 at 4:55 am
I’ve just finished bleeding all my radiators and setting all th thermostats for th warmer weather which is (hopefully) on its way and we’re in the process of changing all our lightbulbs. I’ll hopefully be able to pick up a few more at the end of the month.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:56 am
Great, common sense ideas. I’m going to check several of those things today! BTW – very interesting that you live in Germany. I’ve visited a few times and absolutely love it there.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:58 am
Thanks for the great ideas! I think it might be time to update a few of our curtains!
March 12th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
The heavy curtains are a great idea. I recently just moved into a new house took down all of the drapes as it was an older lady who lived there before. Nothing that style, just not for me. I put up metal blinds b/c they are inexpensive but adding some more modern curtains would probably be a good idea. Do you have any suggestions on how to make them look up-to-date? I am pretty clueless when it comes to window treatment styles.
-John
htt://www.hardcorefinance.com
March 13th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
I save on our water and electricity by taking showers. Why showers? Good question. I only use the water when I a) need to get wet, and b) need to rinse. In between, I turn the water off. You’d be amazed how much you save. Try this: put the stopper in the tub when you take a “normal” shower and see how much water you’ve used. Next, take a shower like I do after putting a stopper in and then compare how much you used vs. the “normal” shower. Also, I wash our clothes in cold water and hang them to dry instead of using a dryer. I don’t rinse dishes prior to putting them in the dishwasher, I put lids on pots when I am bringing water to a boil, turn the oven off a few minutes before the cookies are done, and use the heat from the previously used oven to heat the kitchen.
It’s not hard to do this. As an American, I grew up learning that things need to be convenient, and as luxurious as affordable, and that also meant wasteful. The thing is, when I moved to Europe, I realized how spoiled I was. It’s not hard to do these things I suggested and I don’t think I could ever really own a clothes dryer again. I am even mildly irritated when friends of mine ask me, “How do you live like that??! I have to have a dryer!” “No air conditioning?! I could never do without it!” (Okay, that last one is one that I DON’T hold against my fellow NORTH CAROLINIANS. It get H-O-T there and is unsafe without A/C at times.) But, I would suggest to people that they try to do without A/C on days that aren’t so hot. It really isn’t bad once you get used to it.
May 27th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
Great tips. I spent my winter with my laptop in bed with an electric blanket and then kept the house temperature turned WAY down. I also lived ghetto fabulous and placed a shower curtain rod and clear shower curtain over a back room we didnt use often and that kept the heat where we used it most. Our friends thought it was cute and didnt realize what it was until we told them.
Another thing I do is plug all my chargers and tv/surround sound into power strips and I turn the strips off when I go away for the weekend or even sometimes for weeks while I am home and just not using them. I had no idea how much electricity my tv and cords took up even when they weren’t on.