Image courtesy of Danny

Are you struggling to manage your finances during this never-ending recession? Are your energy bills just too high for you to even bear thinking about? Well, you can save a few dollars, maybe even a few hundred dollars, per year with these energy saving tips.

Without doubt, the best thing you can do to cut down on your energy expenditure is get a comparison of gas and electricity prices on websites like moneysupermarket.com. This particular website has recently conducted a few surveys that have shown that customers are frequently paying over the odds on not only their energy bills, but on their auto insurance and travel insurance, too. They compare a whole list of energy tariffs for you to have a look at and choose the best one for you. Switching providers can often be a very effective way of cutting back in this respect.

Aside from this, there are plenty of things you can do inside the house to save the cents. The easiest and most effective thing to get into the habit of doing is switching everything off when it is finished with. This applies to everything from the TV (in every room), the radio, the cooker, the microwave and the toaster. It could be a pleasant surprise when you find out how much you can save – every little effort helps on the money-saving campaign.

Try to avoid using electricity when you don’t really have to, like perhaps when you’re in bed reading a book. You obviously need light, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be of the electrical variety – use candles instead if your eyesight allows.

When we move to the kitchen, even more money-saving opportunities arise. It helps to be sparing when using the cooker or boiling the kettle, as using only the necessary amount of energy will keep the dollars in your wallet. Defrosting your freezer regularly to make it more efficient is another helpful trick. It really does make a difference.

When the weather gets harsh, you could try to wrap up with more layers so you can turn the heating down a notch. Fitting a jacket around your boiler will also contain its energy, wasting less and saving you more. You might need to keep the heating on very low if the weather gets really harsh just to save your pipes from freezing. Fixing these could well end up being much more expensive than the extra few dollars on your bill, but you’ll still need to be sparing it.

Every cent you save builds up over the year, which means that you could end up saving a few hundred dollars by the time you get your next bill.

Over the past several years, two things have come into focus as incredibly important: saving money and saving the environment.  This post aims to show you six ways how you can very easily do both.

All of the solutions below clost little or no money, and have an immediate pay off in terms of reducing your energy consumption.  This reduction will ultimately save you money and reduce your carbon footprint and impact on the environment.

1) Kill the energy vampires. According to Treehugger.com, electronics that are plugged in but not in use can account for up to 20% of your monthly electricity bill. Electronics that plugged in but not in use will still draw power, hence the name “energy vampires.”

Obviously, the draw is not as much energy as when the electronic device is in use, but, it’s still a waste. Some common energy vampires include cell phone and laptop chargers, TVs, and stereo equipment.

In order to kill the energy vampires, you can either completely unplug these sorts of things when they’re not in use, or, better yet, you can plug everything into an energy saving power strip that you can simply turn on and off as needed. Here’s a highly rated power strip from Amazon.com for only $6.77 – and it’s already 51% off!

Over time, these power strips should more than pay for themselves in the amount of money you save on your energy bills.

2) Use a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat allows you to adjust the heat/air conditioning temperature based on certain times of the day.

For example, in the winter, you can have the furnace kick on and heat the house to a comfortable temperature just before you get out of bed and start your morning routine. Then, while you’re out of the house and at work – when you don’t need the house to be warm and comfortable – the thermostat can drop to a much lower temperature, before returning to a higher temperature just before you get home.

Because you’re not keeping the thermostat set a higher temperature throughout the day, you’ll save a pretty good amount of money each month. In fact, according to EnergyStar.gov, the average household can save about $180 per year by installing and properly using a programmable thermostat.

Here’s a highly rated programmable thermostat from Amazon.com for only $65.76, which is 18% off the usual price.

NOTE – before purchasing a programmable thermostat, make sure it is compatible with your current heating and air conditioning system.

3) Clean your appliances. Your appliances will run most efficiently when they’re in good shape. One of the easiest ways to make sure your big appliances aren’t overworking and running inefficiently is to make sure they’re free and clear of debris.

This means doing things regularly changing your furnace’s air filter and vacuuming your refrigerator’s coils.

Here are some highly rated air filters from Amazon.com.

NOTE – Make sure you are purchasing the correct sized air filters for your heating/cooling system.

4) Unblock vents. Your heating and cooling system is a very complex system (sorry for the redundancy) where, in order for everything to work correctly, there must be a complete free flow of air throughout the vents and returns.

In order to allow the system to operate at maximum efficiency, you need to make sure all of the vents and returns in your house are neither blocked nor obstructed.

So, go around your house and make sure you don’t have your couch over a vent, or a curtain blocking a return. If you do, move the obstruction immediately.

5) Switch to CFL or LED lights. I’m sure you’ve already heard a lot about this one over the past two or three years. CFL and LED lights are much more energy efficient and last a lot longer than their old incandescent counterparts.

They also give off a lot less heat, which will help with your cooling costs in the summer time.

While they cost more up front, over the life of the energy efficient bulbs, you will end up saving money in reduced energy consumption and bulb replacement costs.

Here are some highly rated CFL and LED lights from Amazon.com.

6) Run your laundry on cold water and then air dry the clothes. According to Treehugger.com, 90% of the energy used in washing clothes goes towards heating the water. So, it goes without saying, the more loads of laundry you can do in cold water, the more money you’re going to save.

After you wash your clothes, instead of jamming them into the dryer, place them on a drying rack or clothes line and let them air dry and really watch your utility costs drop.

If you follow these six suggestions, I think you’ll see a significant decrease in the amount of energy you use each month. Not only will this add up to a lot of savings, but you’ll also be doing your part to help the environment.

Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

What are your thoughts? What do you do to save energy each month? Have you had success with any of the above tips? Leave your comments below.

Per FTC regulations, please be aware that the above links to Amazon.com are affiliate links, and I will receive a commission if you purchase items from Amazon.com after clicking my affiliate links.