Shave a Few Euros off Your Electric Bill

Living in Belgium has caused me to dread our next electric bill.  Electricity is EXPENSIVE in Europe....period.  It's not unusual to pay $200-500 a month for your gas/electric bill (and not even counting your other bills such as water, phone &  internet)...we don't even have air conditioners!  So, I dug through my stash of knowledge and discovered these non-traditional tips below.  No matter where you live....glance over the list for a moment, and see if you are tracking along.  Can you believe doing these things will put a big dent in your bill?

 

Don't Preheat: Roasting turkey is a long, slow process, so no preheating is needed. Except for breads or pastries, there's usually no need to preheat the oven! 

Don't open the oven door: Resist the temptation to peek. Instead, turn on the light and look through the oven window. Opening the door lowers the temperature by as much as 25 degrees, increasing cooking time and wasting energy. 

Use other appliances: Microwaves use about 50 percent less energy than conventional ovens. The microwave is more efficient for small items such as baking yams or steaming vegetables. I also use mine to melt chocolate instead of a double boiler on the stove.

Cook items together: Bake several items together if there is enough space for heat to circulate.  Of course I'll have trouble with this one, as my Belgian oven is SO small, I can't even fit a regular size cookie pan in there!!!

Cover pots and pans: Use lids while cooking to retain heat and cook faster. 

Fridge tips: Keep doors closed as much as possible. However, keeping the door open for a longer time while taking out items is more efficient than opening and closing it several times. Don't keep fridge too cold: 37F to 40F is recommended for the fridge and 5% for the freezer. Separate freezers should be kept at 0F.  Get a thermometer to stick in your refrigerator from your local PX.

In cold climates, use unheated garages to store items such as drinks and pies to keep them cool and to allow more room in your fridge!  It's too bad we don't have a garage, but our landlord did just agree to get us a storage shed for our bikes and yard tools (I'm excited about that apparently).

 Turn off lights when you leave a room.  This is the hardest thing for my kids, especially after living in government housing, where you are not paying for it!

For overseas, don't keep transformers on or plugged in unless you are actively using it.  Transformers draw an amazing amount of electricity, even when turned off and just plugged in.

What tips do you have to share for around the house?