Most advice on lowering your electric bill leads with trivia — unplug your phone charger, switch off a power strip — and saves you a dollar or two a month. The levers that actually move a bill are bigger and fewer: how much you spend heating and cooling your home, what your largest appliances cost to run, and — if you live in a state where you can choose your supplier — the rate you pay per kilowatt-hour.
This guide ranks the real levers by impact, starting with the largest. If your bill spiked and you're not sure why, it's worth diagnosing the cause first with our companion guide, why is my electric bill so high — then come back here to fix it.
The short answer
To lower your electric bill, pull the biggest levers first:
- Manage heating and cooling. HVAC is 40-50% of a typical bill. Adjusting your thermostat a few degrees is the single highest-impact habit change.
- Right-size your biggest appliances. The water heater, dryer, and refrigerator account for most of the rest. Settings and efficiency matter more than unplugging small electronics.
- Lower the rate you pay — if you live in a deregulated state. Switching off a high default or expired plan can cut 20-30% off the supply portion with zero lifestyle change.
- Handle the basics: LED bulbs, sealing leaks, washing in cold, running full loads.
The first three move real money. The fourth helps at the margins. Skip the trivia and start at the top.
Start with heating and cooling — your biggest lever
In most homes, heating and cooling is 40-50% of the electric bill (U.S. Department of Energy). That makes your thermostat the most powerful tool you own.
The Department of Energy estimates you can save about 10% a year on heating and cooling by setting your thermostat back 7-10°F for eight hours a day — while you're at work or asleep. A smart or programmable thermostat does this automatically. In summer, every degree you raise the setpoint cuts cooling load; in winter, every degree you lower it cuts heating load.
Beyond the thermostat, the fundamentals are unglamorous but effective: change air filters on schedule so the system isn't fighting itself, seal air leaks around windows and doors, and keep supply vents clear. A central air conditioner running 8 hours a day can add roughly $100 a month at the national average rate — so trimming its runtime is where the money is.
To see what your own cooling load costs rather than a national average, run your unit through our air conditioner electricity cost calculator, or break down your whole bill by appliance with the electricity cost calculator.
Right-size your other big appliances
After HVAC, a handful of appliances account for most of what's left. These are worth your attention; the phone charger is not.
Water heater
Water heating is roughly 18% of the average home's energy use (DOE) — often the second-largest line on the bill. Two changes help: lower the tank thermostat to 120°F (many are factory-set higher), and insulate an older tank and its first few feet of pipe. If you're replacing one, a heat-pump water heater uses far less electricity than a standard resistance tank. Estimate your own with the water heater electricity cost calculator.
Clothes dryer
A standard electric dryer uses about 3 kWh per load — roughly $15 a month for a typical household. The biggest savings come at replacement: an ENERGY STAR heat-pump dryer uses about half the electricity, saving roughly $80-120 a year. Short of that, clean the lint filter every load, dry full loads, and use the moisture-sensor setting instead of timed drying. See the math on the dryer electricity cost calculator.
Refrigerator
Your refrigerator runs 24/7, so small inefficiencies compound. A pre-2000 model can use two to three times the electricity of a modern one. Keep coils clean, set it to the manufacturer's recommended temperature rather than colder, and check the door seals. The refrigerator electricity cost calculator shows what age and efficiency cost over a year.
Lower the rate you pay — the lever most lists skip
Every tip above reduces how much electricity you use. There's a second lever that costs you nothing in comfort: how much you pay per kilowatt-hour. Most "lower your bill" lists ignore it, but in much of the country it's the single largest one-time saving available.
This only applies if you live in a deregulated state — one where you can choose your electricity supplier. Fourteen states plus Washington, D.C. have retail choice: Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and D.C. If you live in one of the roughly 36 regulated states, your utility is a monopoly and this lever isn't available — focus your effort on the usage levers above.
If you can choose, two situations are worth checking today:
- You're on your utility's default rate and have never compared a competitive supplier. Competitive rates often sit below the default. In Pennsylvania, for example, a rate 2-4¢/kWh below the utility's "Price to Compare" saves a 1,000-kWh household $20-40 a month — with no change to your usage.
- Your fixed-rate plan expired and rolled onto a higher month-to-month or variable rate. This is one of the most common reasons a bill creeps up without any change in usage.
If either fits, comparing suppliers is the fastest dollar you'll save. Our guide on how to choose an electricity company walks through reading the rate, the term, and the fine print before you switch.
Lowering your bill in summer
Summer bills are an air-conditioning story. The thermostat strategy above does the heavy lifting, but a few seasonal habits stack on top.
Ceiling fans are the most misunderstood tool here. A fan cools people, not rooms — it works by moving air across your skin, not by lowering the temperature. Run one only in rooms you're actually in, and it lets you raise the thermostat a few degrees without feeling warmer. The payoff is in the trade: a ceiling fan costs about $1-3 a month to run, while the higher thermostat setting it enables saves far more on cooling. (Leaving fans running in empty rooms just wastes that $1-3.) See the breakdown on the ceiling fan electricity cost calculator.
Beyond fans: close blinds on sun-facing windows during the day, run heat-generating appliances (oven, dryer) in the cooler evening, and service the AC so it runs efficiently. For a deeper seasonal playbook, see how to lower your electric bill in summer.
Lowering your bill in winter
In homes that heat with electricity — heat pumps or electric resistance — winter can rival or exceed summer. The same thermostat setback applies, and a heat pump is two to three times more efficient than resistance heat.
Space heaters are the winter trap. A 1,500-watt space heater costs about $44 a month run six hours a day, and the cost scales directly with hours. Used to warm one occupied room so you can lower the whole-home thermostat, a space heater can save money. Left running to heat space you're not using, it quietly becomes one of the most expensive appliances in the house. The space heater electricity cost calculator shows exactly how hours of use drive the cost. Round out the season by sealing drafts and reversing ceiling fans to clockwise on low to push warm air down.
If you rent or live in an apartment
Renters have fewer levers — you can't replace the water heater or upgrade the HVAC — but the highest-impact ones are still available.
The thermostat strategy works in any home you control. If you live in a deregulated state, choosing your own supplier is fully within a renter's control and requires no landlord permission — it's often the biggest saving available to someone who can't make structural changes. Beyond that: LED bulbs (a renter-friendly swap that uses about 75% less energy than incandescent and travels with you), draft stoppers and removable weatherstripping, washing in cold water, and running only full loads. Skip the advice that assumes you own the building.
The quick-win checklist
A genuinely useful order of operations, biggest lever first:
- Set back your thermostat 7-10°F for the hours you're away or asleep — about 10% off heating and cooling.
- Audit your usage. Run your bill through the electricity cost calculator to see which appliances actually drive it.
- Compare your rate if you live in a deregulated state — start with how to choose an electricity company.
- Lower the water heater to 120°F and insulate an older tank.
- Use fans to enable a higher thermostat in summer; reserve space heaters for single occupied rooms in winter.
- Switch to LEDs, seal leaks, wash cold, run full loads.
Work top to bottom. The first three move real money; the rest tidy up the edges. And if you haven't figured out why the bill is high in the first place, start with why is my electric bill so high.
FAQ
What uses the most electricity in my home?
Heating and cooling — your HVAC system — is the largest single use in most homes, at 40-50% of the typical electric bill (DOE). After that, water heating (~18%), the refrigerator, and the clothes dryer account for most of what's left. Lighting and electronics are a much smaller slice. If you want to cut your bill, start where the energy actually goes, not with small plug-in devices.
Does lowering the thermostat actually save money?
Yes, and it's the highest-impact habit change available. The Department of Energy estimates you can save about 10% a year on heating and cooling by setting your thermostat back 7-10°F for eight hours a day. Because HVAC is roughly half your bill, a few degrees compounds into real money over a season. A programmable or smart thermostat automates the setback so you don't have to remember.
Can switching electricity providers lower my bill?
Only if you live in a deregulated state — Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or D.C. In those states, shopping for a competitive supplier can cut the supply portion of your bill 20-30% with no change in usage, especially if you're on a high default rate or an expired plan. In the roughly 36 regulated states, you can't choose a supplier, so the savings come from reducing usage instead.
Do energy-saving gadgets like smart plugs lower my bill much?
Not by much. Smart plugs and power strips cut "phantom" standby draw, which is only about 5-10% of a typical home's use — and most of that is small electronics drawing a few watts. They're worth using, but they won't transform a bill. The large savings are in heating and cooling, your major appliances, and your rate. Lead with those.
How much can I realistically lower my electric bill?
It depends on where you start. Usage changes — thermostat discipline, efficient appliance use, sealing leaks — typically save 10-20% combined. In a deregulated state, switching off a high rate can save another 20-30% on supply with no lifestyle change. Stacked together, a household that's been ignoring both levers can often take a meaningful bite out of the bill; one that's already efficient and on a competitive rate has less room to move.