Saving money on your electric bills, part 1

Everybody loves to save money. One of the easy areas to cut your monthly expenses is on your electric bill. There are multiple products on the market today that can cut your electric bill and still deliver the same quality service you're accustomed to. 

When my sons were young, they had a propensity to enter a room, turn on a light and leave with the light still on. Initially, it was irritating, but over time, rather than get frustrated with them I did something to make sure that it was no longer an issue. I installed a motion sensing light switch in the area where the lights were the most likely to be left on by unconscious boys (and adults). 

The motion sensing switches are reasonably inexpensive too (approximately $20). The way they work is that when you enter a room the swtich senses your presence and the lights come on. When you leave the room, the lights will stay on at a predetermined time (mine is set for 5 minutes), and then they automatically cut off. There is no flipping switches. You just walk in, and you walk out. The motion sensing switch does all the work for you. No more lights left on.

The second cost cutting device I incorporated into my home was a digitial timer switch. In my case, this switch is used for exterior lights. The switch will only allow the lights to be on during predetermined times. I use this one on a rental property that I rent out for weekend retreats. Those who use the property have been notorious for leaving a high intensity fixture on for days (and weeks) on end. So, I installed a timed switch. This switch allows me to have it come on automatically at a specific time (typically dusk), and then it turns itself off at a specific time. 

These switches can be installed by a homeowner. They have good instructions, but if you feel uncomfortable dealing with electricity, by all means call us to have them installed. If you do decide to install them yourself, please turn the power off on the circuits associated with the switches, read the instructions well and install the device. Reinstall the device into the box, turn the power back on and test. If everything is done correctly, you will be on the path to saving money.