The countless devices, electronics, and appliances throughout your home are sucking away all of your electricity, and likely your money, too.
Making the switch to household energy-saving devices can help tremendously with your electricity usage.
This guide aims to help you to understand:
- What energy-saving devices are
- How energy-saving devices work; and
- If they really help to keep energy charges down
Table of Contents
- What are Energy Saving Devices?
- How Do Household Energy Saving Devices Work?
- Do Energy Saving Devices Really Work?
- 6 of the Best Electricity Saving Devices for Homes
- #1: Power Strips and Outlets
- #2: LED Bulbs
- #3: Smart Energy Meters
- #4: Smart Routers
- #5: Programmable Thermostats
- #6: Energy Saving Appliances
- Gexa Energy and Energy Saving Devices Could Help You Keep Your Electricity Usage and Energy Charges Down
What Are Energy Saving Devices?
Energy-savings devices are meant to do just that — help you save on the amount of energy you use throughout your home.
As technology continues to advance and more and more people are working from home or spending time in their homes, electricity usage is dramatically increasing. Not only do energy-saving devices help you use less energy, but they could ultimately help you:
- Save on your monthly and yearly energy charges
- Cut back on carbon emissions
Think about all of the electricity you use in your home daily. Things like …
- Light bulbs
- Televisions and computers
- Electronics
- Washing machine and dryer
- Dishwasher
- Outlets and power strips
- Thermostats
… and so much more.
Energy-saving devices are available for nearly every device that uses electricity throughout your home.
Choosing an affordable electricity plan, like the 100% green electricity offered by Gexa Energy, paired with making the switch to energy-saving devices for your home could pay off greatly in the end.
How Do Household Energy Saving Devices Work?
Energy-saving devices help cut back on electricity usage. But how do household energy-saving devices really work for electricity savings?
Most household energy-saving devices have capacitors, which counteract the inductive elements of the energy load. The capacitors in turn enhance power distribution.
Other electricity saving devices force electronic devices to use less energy by automatically cutting off the electricity supply when the electronic device or appliance isn’t being used. This is known as vampire power, vampire energy, or phantom power.
This is helpful because of electronics and appliances like the …
- Computer
- Television
- Microwave
- Coffee machine; and
- Chargers
… that continue to use power when they’re plugged in, even if they’re not being used. This typically equates to about 10% of wasted electricity that is reflected in your energy charges.
Do Energy Saving Devices Really Work?
There are many different energy-saving devices for homes on the market, and choosing the best power-saving device for your home and appliances is the only way to ensure that they will properly work.
How do I know what energy-saving devices are right for my home?
- Think about the different appliances and electronics you use regularly.
- Consider the appliances and electronics that use the most electricity, like your heating and cooling system or large appliances.
- Determine what you can replace with electricity-saving devices to cut back on both electricity usage and energy charges.
There are a few tips and tricks to saving electricity throughout your home, and switching to energy saving devices is one that could really help.
6 of the Best Electricity Saving Devices for Homes
Vampire power is real. Even when your devices are not being used, they’re using electricity.
For example:
- Your computer is on but is “asleep” when not in use.
- Your cellphone is done charging but still plugged into the charger.
- Your television is completely turned off when not being used.
These are just a few examples.
Think about all of the gadgets and electronics you have plugged in around your home that are only used for a few small hours a day. The rest of that time, they’re wasting electricity.
Energy Star suggests that the average American household spends $100 per year powering devices that are not completely turned off or are in standby mode. That’s 100 billion kWh (kilowatt-hours) of electricity consumption per year.
One hundred dollars per year might not seem like a huge number, but why waste that money when you can use some of the best power-saving devices on the market to help save electricity and lower your yearly energy charges.
#1: Power Strips and Outlets
Smart power strips and outlets are different from your standard household power strip.
Because of vampire power, these traditional power strips and outlets keep using electricity even when the devices plugged into them aren’t being used.
Smart power strips and outlets work two ways:
- They can be controlled electronically and can completely cut off power when the devices plugged in are not being used.
- They automatically detect when devices plugged into them are not being used and turn off on their own.
This helps to continuously conserve electricity and cut back on energy charges.
#2: LED Bulbs
Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs efficiently produce light up to 90% better than incandescent light bulbs.
An electrical current passes through a microchip which illuminates the tiny light sources (LEDs), creating light.
LED bulbs are the more energy-efficient choice over incandescent light bulbs. The directional light helps greatly in saving electricity in homes.
#3: Smart Energy Meters
Smart energy meters are designed to communicate with your electricity provider wirelessly so that your electric provider can receive your readings automatically.
They also provide helpful information to you as the electricity consumer that might help you to change your electricity usage habits.
How does this help cut back on electricity and energy charges?
- Smart energy meters are more accurate than having your meter read by a technician, which means you could avoid estimations on your energy charges.
- They allow you to keep a close eye on your electricity usage by providing information like where you might be wasting electricity and money.
#4: Smart Routers
Smart routers are designed to help handle the load of multiple devices streaming online at one time.
A traditional router has lower power consumption, but when they’re working hard to support so many devices at one time, they are becoming less energy-efficient and can add to your overall internet expenses.
Smart routers might seem less important than some of these other energy-saving devices, but investing in any of these electricity-saving devices for homes can help improve electricity usage and lower energy charges.
#5: Programmable Thermostats
Heating and cooling typically take up nearly half of the energy charges in your home.
Without programmable thermostats, households essentially have three options:
- Set the heating or cooling on a basic timer.
- Turn off the system completely.
- Leave the system on all of the time.
To save energy consumers the extra step of constantly messing with the thermostat to conserve heating and cooling, or of suffering without air conditioning or warmth, programmable thermostats were designed.
Programmable thermostats allow users to:
- Track electricity usage
- Set specific rooms to certain settings
- Use adaptable timers
- Save close to 25% on energy charges
#6: Energy Saving Appliances
Some of the major and large appliances in your home use a lot of energy when they are being used.
Things like …
- The refrigerator
- The washing machine and dryer; and
- The dishwasher
… are used constantly, daily, or frequently enough to use up the majority of the electricity in your home.
By switching these appliances to energy-saving devices, you could cut back on electricity usage and save money on your energy charges.
Refrigerator
A standard refrigerator in your home uses about 7% of your electricity each month. Many American homes have more than one refrigerator, so this number may be double or even tripled.
Switching to an energy-efficient refrigerator can help save on some of that electricity usage.
You can also implement some of these tips to help save on energy charges:
- Do not keep your refrigerator too cold (35-38℉ is ideal).
- Check to be sure the refrigerator door seals are working properly.
- Cover foods and liquids to trap moisture.
- Do not allow frost to build up over time.
Washing Machine and Dryer
Many households keep their washing machines and dryers for a very long time. Studies have shown that when these appliances are over 10 years old, they can cost you an average of $185 per year.
- High-efficiency washers use 33% less water than standard washers and save nearly 25% of electricity. This might mean saving close to $400 on energy charges during the machine’s lifetime.
- Electricity-saving dryers use about 20% less energy than a standard dryer and might save nearly $200 on energy charges during the appliance’s lifetime.
Dishwasher
Although they can be more expensive or need to be replaced more frequently, electricity-saving dishwashers are designed with a handful of helpful tools to help save on electricity usage and energy charges.
To make the most of your electricity-saving dishwasher, use these tips:
- Check the manual for water temperature guidelines and adhere to them.
- Fill it up completely with dishes before running a cleaning cycle, but do not overload the dishwasher.
- Know that “rinse hold” uses 3-7 gallons of water each use, so only use on full loads of dishes.
- Crack the door to air dry dishes at the end of a cleaning cycle instead of using the drying setting on your dishwasher.
Gexa Energy and Electricity Saving Devices for Your Home Could Help Keep Your Electricity Usage and Energy Charges Down
Are you contemplating different ways to cut back on electricity usage and save money on your monthly and yearly energy charges?
Gexa Energy offers low-cost residential electricity plans that are 100% renewable. Even better, Gexa offers a Happiness Guarantee* to switch electricity plans with no cancellation fee within the first 60 days of activation.
Making the switch to an affordable electricity plan and utilizing electricity-saving devices for homes could significantly help save one electricity usage and energy charges.
Contact Gexa Energy today to shop the available 100% green residential plan options and make the switch.
Gexa Energy purchases renewable energy credits (RECs) from renewable generation resources throughout North America to match 100% of the energy sold under your electric plan. The RECs Gexa purchases represent the renewable attributes of power generated from a variety of renewable energy sources, including, but not limited to, the sun, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, wave or tidal energy, and biomass or biomass-based waste products, including landfill gas.
* Happiness Guarantee - If you’re not happy with your new Gexa Energy residential plan, just call us within 60 days of your service activation date, change to another available Gexa Energy plan, and we’ll waive the early cancellation fee on your first plan; applies one time only for new Gexa Energy residential customers. Your contract term will restart with your second plan. Offer subject to change or withdrawal prior to customer acceptance.
Additional eligibility requirements, terms and conditions may apply. Gexa reserves the right to modify or discontinue offers at any time.