Somehow, We seem to have saved $20 on our electricity bill last month. Since our heat and hot water are both from natural gas it is not changing due to weather/heating needs.(mental note haven’t put insulation on Hot water heater). So I think it is based on our usage. There are three things that have changed that might be it.
Changing to fluorescent bulbs. We put fluorescent bulbs in the lights we use the most (kitchen, dining room and bathroom). They consume a lot less electricity, like 14W instead of 60-75W, and now are instant on. So instead of flickering when they first go on, they turn on right away. Although they start off a little dim and take a couple minutes to get up to full intensity.
Turning off the entertainment center. Our TV, stereo, DVD player, VCR are all in a power strip. Whenever it is not in use we just turn it off. Any thing that uses a remote consumes power when not in use( waiting for the IR signal from the remote). So this saves power for the 22-23 hours they are not in use each day.
Turning off lights when we are not in the room. I am making a concerted effort to turn off lights when there is no one in the room.
I can’t think of what else has changed, but those seems like they have significantly helped our electric bill. I am afraid to think of the electric bill at work, with the smallest stage light consuming 500W and the largest using up 2000Watts. Luckily I don’t pay those bills.