Efficiency Tips and Tools
The less energy you waste, the more you have for life.
Simple fixes – some no-cost, many low-cost – can save you 20–30% percent on your energy bill.
That’s $1 a day more in your wallet or $3.2 billion in annual savings for all Texas households1. Given that Texans spend 56 percent more each year for electricity than the national residential average, that’s truly powerful smart!
Quick Money-Saving Tips:
In addition to the loose change in your couch, use these tips around the rest of your house and look for the savings to add up. It’s like found money!
- For summer savings, set the thermostat to 78 degrees. Raise it to 85 when you’re out four hours. Use ceiling fans only when you are in the room.
- Do not open the oven door often to preview the food. Each time you open the door, the oven temperature drops 25 degrees.
- If you have a self-cleaning oven, use the self-cleaning feature immediately after regular baking when the oven is still hot.
- Lower your water heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to save slow mineral buildup and prevent scalding. For every 10 degrees Fahrenheit decrease, you’ll save 3 to 5% in energy costs.
- Computer screen savers do not reduce energy used by computer monitors. Switching to sleep mode or manually turning monitors off is always the better energy-saving strategy.
- Unplug appliances or use a power strip to cut all power. 75% of electricity used to power electronics and appliances is consumed while the products are turned OFF.
More Energy-Saving Tools:
 Energy CalculatorsWhat gets measured gets done. |
Do-It-Yourself FixesThe power to save is yours. |
 Invest to SaveLower energy use long-term. |
Find an Energy ProGet a helping hand. |
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Footnote 1: Calculation of annual savings for all Texas households based on $1 per day savings annualized to 365 days multiplied by 2008 census state pop/average people per household. 2008 census state population was 24,326,974. Average people per household was 2.74. 24,326,974 divided by 2.74 equals 8,878,458 Texas households. 8,878,458 multiplied by 365 equals $3,240,637,170.
Data source: U.S. Census Bureau: State and County QuickFacts - Texas