7 Ways to Lower Your Electricity Bill

A lot of what you pay for electricity goes to things nobody is using. Think of a light left on in an empty hallway, a television that never quite switches off, an old fridge humming away in the basement. Here are seven ways to trim that waste. Some are weekend jobs you can do on your own, and a few are work for a licensed electrician, so we say which is which. How much each one saves depends on your house and your habits, so we describe what changes and leave the arithmetic to your next bill.

1. Switch Your Bulbs to LED

Light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs draw less power than the incandescent and compact fluorescent bulbs they replace, and they last longer, so you buy and change them less often. Swapping a bulb is a job anyone can do. Adding light where there is none, such as LED pot lights in a dim kitchen or basement, means new wiring and usually a permit, and that is electrician work. One more thing to check: an older dimmer built for incandescent bulbs can make LEDs flicker, so the dimmer is often replaced with one rated for LED loads at the same time.

2. Let a Thermostat Keep the Schedule

A programmable or smart thermostat turns the heat or the air conditioning down while you sleep or are out, then brings the house back to temperature before you need it. Heating and cooling run for hours a day through much of the year, so trimming those hours adds up over a season. Many low-voltage thermostats are a swap a handy homeowner can manage. If yours controls electric baseboard heaters, though, it is a line-voltage thermostat, usually on a 240 volt circuit, and we recommend an electrician for that one.

3. Stop the Standby Draw

Televisions, game consoles, printers and microwaves keep drawing a little power while they look switched off. Plug a group of them into a power bar and turn the bar off at night, or use a power bar with a built-in timer. A smart receptacle can do the same job on a schedule you set from your phone, and our guide to USB outlets and smart receptacles explains how those work.

4. Retire the Oldest Appliances

A second fridge or chest freezer in the basement runs every hour of the year, and older dryers and window air conditioners tend to use more than current models. When one wears out, compare the yearly energy figure printed on the label of each replacement before you buy. A new electric dryer, range or heat pump may also need a different circuit from the one the old unit used, which is where an electrician comes in.

5. Put Lights on Timers and Motion Sensors

Hallways, laundry rooms, garages, closets and outdoor fixtures are the lights most often left burning. A motion sensor switch turns a light off once the room is empty, and a timer can switch porch and path lights on at dusk and off at an hour you choose. Replacing a wall switch with a sensor or timer switch is quick work for an electrician, and we also install outdoor path, deck and security lighting.

6. Seal the Drafts

Gaps around windows, doors and attic hatches let warm or cool air leak out, so the furnace and the air conditioner run longer to make up for it. Weatherstripping and caulking are homeowner jobs. Outlet and switch boxes on outside walls leak air too, and foam gaskets made to fit behind the cover plates are an easy fix with the power to that circuit off. If you are adding attic insulation, check first that any pot lights below it are rated for insulation contact.

7. Plan the Panel Before the Next Big Addition

A new panel does not lower the bill on its own. What it gives you is capacity for the next efficient appliance, whether that is a heat pump, an induction range or an electric vehicle (EV) charger, each on a dedicated circuit. If your home still has a fuse box or 100-amp service, plan a panel upgrade before you buy those appliances. Our load management guide explains how an electrician works out whether the panel you already have can carry more.

Time-of-Use Pricing: When You Run Things Matters

On the time-of-use plan, and on the ultra-low overnight plan, an hour of electricity costs less late at night than it does at the peak. Each November 1 the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) resets those prices, and our battery backup hub lists the current ones with the date they took effect. Running the dishwasher, the dryer or an EV charger in the cheaper hours lowers what each load costs, even though you use the same amount of electricity. A delay-start button on the appliance, or a charger set to begin overnight, means nobody has to remember.

Which of the Seven Need an Electrician

Bulbs, power bars, appliance shopping and weatherstripping are yours. Sensor and timer switches, new pot lights, circuits for new appliances, line-voltage thermostats and anything at the panel are electrical work. Ontario's Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) expects almost every electrical job to be reported before it starts, through a notification of work that most people call a permit, and it inspects the finished job. A homeowner can take out that permit to work on their own home. For panel and circuit work, though, we recommend a licensed electrical contractor, who files the permit and arranges the inspection.

The upgrades that keep saving power once they are in, from sensors to circuits for efficient appliances, are in our guide to energy-saving electrical upgrades. If you live in Stoney Creek, our Stoney Creek energy upgrades guide looks at the homes there ward by ward.

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