Do you feel like your electric bill goes up every month? Now is a good time to look at ways to trim it. Here are some easy hacks.

Install LED light bulbs. These save significant amounts of energy and last far longer than incandescent bulbs, which easily cover their higher initial cost. The savings add up when you put LED bulbs in all your lights.

Install dimmer switches on lights. These let you turn down the lights, and don’t require an electrician to install them.

Turn off the heated drying setting on your dishwasher. When using the dishwasher, shut off the heated drying system, which uses electricity to heat the air that dries the dishes. Let dishes dry in the dishwasher with the door open.

Line dry your laundry. Clothes dryers use a fair amount of power. Dry clothes on a line outside or a rack inside.

Lower the temperature on your water heater. Cutting it by just a few degrees can save significant money.

Install low-flow showerheads. These save both water and electricity.

Stop preheating the oven. Even though recipes tell you to do this, preheating uses a lot of electricity with little benefit to the dish you’re preparing.

Don’t pack the fridge and freezer. With too much food, these units struggle to keep it all cold. As they work harder, they use more electricity.

Clean refrigerator condenser coils. These coils are located on the back near the bottom, so they can quickly collect dirt. This causes them to work less efficiently and consume more electricity.

Use appliances when the electric rates are the lowest. Contact your electric company by phone or online and find out their peak and off-peak hours. Try using appliances during off-peak times.

Limit ironing time. Ironing uses lots of energy, so only iron items that truly need it. You’ll also use less energy if you let the pile of things to be ironed collect and do all your ironing in one session.

Space high-energy appliances away from each other. The closer they are, the more electricity they use because of the heat they emit.

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