With the growing pressure to address climate change, the Department of Energy, international, and state code officials are implementing new building codes, regulations, and fees that are elevating home construction costs beyond reach of the typical household. In some U.S. locations, these heavy regulations and associated construction costs make it economically infeasible to build a new home at all. No matter how well-intentioned these new energy codes are to help preserve our great earth, the net effect is a direct increase in housing costs that disproportionately impact low and moderate-income families.

For these low to moderate-income homeowners or anyone who is looking to lower their yearly energy consumption without spending over-the-top construction costs on newly insulated walls or complete window replacements, here are three rather uncommon, cheap and easy solutions that will help lower those dreadful monthly electric bills:

1)  Shop for the Cheapest Utility Electrical Supplier (FREE).

Many people don’t realize that a typical utility electric bill is broken down into supply (generation) and delivery (transmission and distribution). While the delivery portion is almost entirely dependent on location and out of your control (unless you move), you are free to select your electrical utility supplier. This somewhat free market is where the potential cost savings lie. For example, if your local utility electrical supplier is charging $.121 per kWh (kWh = 1000 Watts x Hours) and you’ve found another supplier that is offering a 3yr. fixed price of $.089 per kWh, you can stand to save $32/monthly bill (if your average usage is 1000 kWh per month). That’s a $384 yearly savings just for making a phone call!

 2)  Hot Water Heater Automated On/Off Timer ($50).

Even your typical well-insulated energy efficient 40 or 50 gallon hot water tank may cycle on and off several times within an hour to maintain its temperature, depending on the hot water usage. A residential home’s hot water tank is one of the larger energy consumers, at 4kW per hour (typically 1kW usage during a 15min warm-up cycle depending on size). So, if you can spare 4-6 heating cycles during the night while you are sleeping and not using any hot water, you can stand to save 4-6kWh per day, or 120kWh per billing cycle, reducing that monthly 1000kWh bill to 880kWh, for an approximate $24/month savings.

 3)  Sun Screen Shades or Reflective Blinds ($30-50 per shade).

A residential air conditioning (AC) condenser is undoubtedly one of the largest power draws for a homeowner, and the primary cause for any mid-summer utility “blackout,” which some of us are far too familiar with! So, during those hot summer months, it should be everyone’s goal to reduce a building’s overall heat gain. One of the easiest ways to do this, beyond spending $100K or more on a complete insulation upgrade, is with highly reflective blinds or sun shades. The smart management of residential window coverings can reduce heat gain by 50% or more. So if you can reduce the operation of your 3 ton whole-house AC condenser, even just 30%, by use of window coverings and reduced solar heat gain, you can stand to reduce your electrical bill by 300-450kWh per month for an approximate $60/month savings.