Besides saving money, you will be making your home more comfortable, and you will be helping to protect the environment too.



1. During the summer set your thermostat at 78 degrees or higher when your home, and at 85 degrees when no one is there (you save 1 to 2 percent per degree raised on your electric bill). Also, use a ceiling fan or a fan that rotates back and forth. This can make the room feel up to 4 degrees cooler!

2. Regularly, typically once a month, replace your air conditioner's air filter (save up to 5 percent on your annual electric bill). Also, this helps with dust and dirt in the air making your home more enjoyable.

3. Keep your doors and vents closed in rooms that are not being used (save up to 3 percent on cooling costs). There is no need to waste money cooling rooms that are not being used - this can be a big savings depending on the size of your home.

4. On hot, sunny days, keep your curtains closed on windows facing to the south and west (save 2 to 4 percent on your electricity bill). The curtains will help keep the suns heat from heating up your room which means you use less electricity to keep it cool.

5. Caulk and weather-strip around windows and doors (save 1 to 4 percent on your electricity bill). Most people over look this step, but heat seeping around cracks means you have to use more air condition and ultimately more electricity.

6. Wash and dry only full loads of clothes and use cold water as much as possible (save 2 to 4 percent on your electricity costs). This also save time when you plan and wash a full load of clothes. Who wants to fold clothes more times than they have to?

7. Set your water heater's temperature to 120 degrees (save up to 10 percent on water heating costs; check by placing a thermometer under one of your taps). Most people don't realize that their electric water heater is almost always on heating the water.

If you can keep the water temperature near 120 degrees your water heater will not have to re-heat the water as much as it does at higher temperatures.

8. Use your microwave oven instead of your regular oven (save up to 50 percent on cooking costs). Microwaves are much more energy efficient than traditional regular ovens. A regular over uses a lot of electricity to heat up and to stay warm.

9. Install compact fluorescent lights in high-use fixtures (save about 66 percent on lighting cost per fixture). Also, these type of lights tend to last much longer than regular light bulbs most of us use.

10. Take advantage of super cheap electric rates from Ambit Energy and save up to 16% on your next electrical bill - for the average user this is almost $250 per year!

This is one of best ways to save money right off the top of your bill with doing almost nothing. All you have to do is switch your electric provider and you can do it online in less than 2 minutes.