How to lower your utility bills and save money

There’s never any harm in saving a little bit of money at the end of each month, especially in our current circumstances. One way to do this is by lowering your utility bills, which is easier than you may think – really all you need to do is become a little more mindful of your habits. Use these tips from our team as a guide to slashing your next bill.

Dress for the occasion

Don’t be hesitant to dress down a little more than usual when it’s hot outside, rather than amping up the aircon. While you’re in the comfort of your own home, there is more room to wear lighter clothing as opposed to stuffy work pants and closed shoes. Once you begin using your outfit as a means of regulating your temperature before skipping straight to an electricity-draining appliance, you’ll find that it’s possible to keep cool and comfortable without unnecessarily running up your electricity bill.

Limit your shower time

We know how tempting it is to stand under the warm stream of water,, especially as autumn sets in and our mornings get colder. But showers can use anything between 6 and 45 liters per minute, so bear that in mind when you’re in no rush to get out from under that warm water. Another easy way to save water in the shower is by turning the water off when you don’t need it, like when you’re lathering your shampoo, or scrubbing yourself off.

Lower the temperature on your geyser

Your geyser is responsible for distributing hot water to sinks, showers, dishwashers and washing machines. You may find that a large portion of your electricity bill goes towards your geyser maintaining a constant store of hot water in its tank. By lowering your geyser’s temperature to roughly 45 degrees Celsius, you can shave some of the expense off of your electricity bill. Another way to save money on your geyser is to turn it off whenever you go on holiday or even leave your house for the day. Just remember to turn it back on when you get home and give it 30 minutes to heat up again before you can run hot water.

Use grey water to flush your toilets

Although water restrictions may not currently be at their most severe, using the grey water from your shower to flush your toilets every now and then could save you a Rand or two. Old cisterns can use between 9 and 12 liters per flush, while new ones use about 6. It really doesn’t hurt to leave a bucket in your shower to catch grey water, soon you won’t even notice it. Plus, moving the full bucket to the toilet afterwards can act as your arm workout for the day!

Use your appliances strategically

This point can prove to be very helpful when trying to lower your electric bill. Everything from the dishwasher to the tumble dryer can be used in a way that reduces expense. When using the tumble dryer, make sure that you dry loads of clothing consecutively, rather than waiting between loads, as this ensures that the machine remains a more constant temperature instead of having to heat itself up again each time. When loading the dishwasher, make sure that it is at maximum capacity each time you do a wash, rather than doing two half washes. When making a cup of tea, fill the kettle up based on how many cups you’re making – there’s no need to boil a full kettle when you’re only making one cup.

Always remain on the lookout for dripping taps

Leaks waste water. A slow dripping tap may not appear to be much of an issue, but you’ll be surprised how much water you could be wasting. It goes without saying that any wasted water will have quite an impact on your water bill, and wouldn’t you rather be using those 8 extra liters a day than (literally) letting them go down the drain? Even if that leak really doesn’t pose as much of a problem right now, remember that almost every leak will always worsen over time if left alone.