How to Save Money on Electricity in Your Tiny Home

Are you looking at moving into a tiny home? Or are you already living in one? Are your energy bills extremely high, even in your tiny home? Well, if that’s the case for you, you aren’t alone. Energy bills can get extremely high, especially during summers and winters, and especially in areas with extreme weather. Keeping your energy at a manageable rate, therefore, is difficult. To do so, you likely need to add a few tips and tricks to how you run your house. As you do so, you’ll save a little money in several areas, which in turn leads to saving lots of money.

Use Solar Panels

One great way to help you save money on your energy bill is for you to start using solar panels. Solar panels save you money because instead of having to purchase all your energy from your city’s utilities company, you get to use energy from the sun. Granted, solar panels are an expensive purchase; however, they will likely save you money in the long run, so it’s a great idea to purchase them for your tiny house—especially since your tiny house probably won’t need as much energy as a traditional house would.

Use a Programmable Thermostat

Another fantastic way to save money in your tiny house is to use a programmable thermostat. This idea is very effective for saving money because you likely use a lot of energy to cool or heat your house when you’re not even though. Using a programmable thermostat, you can set the thermostat to keep the house at a specific temperature when you’re there, but to change to a different temperature once you’re gone. If you do, you won’t be unnecessarily paying for energy you’re not getting to enjoy during the day.

Buy Efficient Appliances

Another way to help you save money on your energy bill in your tiny house is to purchase energy-efficient appliances. Your appliances can use up a lot of energy. However, if you purchase energy-efficient appliances, you’ll be able to conserve that extra energy easier. Also, be aware of when you’re running those appliances. If you’re doing, for example, all your laundry during the hours that are the hottest part of the day, you’ll certainly use more energy. So, buy efficient appliances and don’t use them during the hottest or coldest part of the day, depending on what season you’re in.

Keep It Well-Sealed

Keeping your tiny house well sealed will certainly help you save money on your energy bill. Houses naturally have crooks and crannies in them. They have little spaces or gaps in the wood or whatever material it’s made out of that let in cold or warm drafts. When the unwanted air comes into your house, it makes your air conditioner or heater have to work harder to regulate your house. When your air conditioner or heater has to work harder, you consequently spend more money on energy bills. So, caulk your windows and doors. Make sure there’s little-to-no air seeping in or out of your house. Efficient entry doors also help reduce HVAC use in your home by keeping warm and cool air inside.

Use Smart Switches

One way you’ll find you use lots of energy is likely by leaving lights on when they’re not needed. So, a simple fix to said issue is simply to purchase smart switches. Smart switches are switches you can install on your lights—usually your outside lights—that detect motion. When there is motion, the lights will turn on. When there’s no motion, the lights will turn off. This method is effective because if you forget to turn a light off before you leave, or if you don’t notice it because it’s shining during the daytime, your light will turn off by itself and you’ll save money you would have lost.

Use Natural Lighting

Besides using smart switches to turn off your lights, you can also consider another option: natural lighting. Natural light is natural—so, it’s free. If you make sure to put windows in your tiny house and to open the blinds or curtains during the daytime, you won’t need to turn lights on. Opening the blinds will also let the sun in which, especially in cold winter months, will help your house to stay cozy and warm. Using natural light to light your house will also help you stay happy and healthy. That part might not help your physical energy bill, but it will certainly help your mental energy bill, which may result in you using less energy in your house.

Keep a Full Freezer

Keeping a full freezer has many advantages. The first one is obvious—if you get hungry, you can go grab some food or a snack, heat it up, and enjoy. However, more importantly, if your freezer is full, it’ll actually help to keep your whole freezer cold. Having lots of food in your freezer, especially if the food is cool, creates a type of insulation for the freezer. This insulation ends up keeping all the food in the freezer cold so you don’t have to pay to run your freezer as cold as you would if your freezer were empty.

Clean Your Air Filter and Use Fans

There’s one more idea—well sort of two—you may very well find useful in keeping your energy bills low. That is to change your air filters in your HVAC system and to use fans in your house. Changing or cleaning the air filters in your tiny house helps the HVAC system not have to work as hard. That, naturally, saves you money. Furthermore, using ceiling fans and other fans to cool bedrooms and other rooms is very effective but also very inexpensive. These two ideas will help you reduce your energy bill, especially during the expensive summer months.

Keeping your tiny home at a reasonable temperature is important. However, doing so while maintaining a low energy bill is difficult. So, make it simple: get solar panels, use a programmable thermostat, buy efficient appliances, keep your house well-sealed, use smart switches, use natural lighting, keep a full freezer, and clean your air filters and use fans.

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