10 + DIY Ways We Reduced Our Electric Bill

Our electricity bill has been dropping for years. It's the result of a combination of little and big DIY things we've done around the house that has added up to real savings, despite increases from the utility company.
Here is our kWh average usage for the last three summers, May through August. Mind you, this is in Phoenix, AZ where cooling is our biggest expense in the summer. We're gaining on it!
By simply replacing the two 60w incandescents in our ceiling fan, with four LED can lights during the family room remodel, we more than doubled out light for less than half the energy usage. Plus, these lamps are cooler, reducing the overall heat our costly AC has to battle.
We saved 204 watts when we replaced our outdoor fixtures with LED lighting. It also increased the overall brightness.
By adding an automated lighting controller to our exterior lighting, we stopped accidentally leaving our lights on all day when we departed in the dark, early mornings. It allowed us to keep the nighttime security for our cars parked in the driveway.
I swapped old-school magnetic ballasted T-12 florescent fixtures for newer electronic ballasted T-8 fixtures in my garage workshop. When I did this a year ago, the new LED strip fixtures were not as affordable, but I still save a whopping 964 watts!
Adding a good layer of insulation and sealing it when we replaced the horrible ceiling of our family room made a noticeable difference instantly. We can enjoy the room during the hottest days of a Phoenix summer
In August of 2012, our average monthly bill was $285.00. Two years later, our average monthly bill is down to $ 175.00, a huge savings of $110.00 per month! That's worth a lot of fancy coffee's eh?


Ohhh there's more! Check out the rest of the list on the blog. It's got water heater upgrades, swimming pool equipment, and the slaying of everyday energy leaches in the home.
John @ AZ DIY Guy
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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