• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise
  • Contact our Team
  • In the News
  • For NYC Residents
    • NYC Free Parking Calendar 2020
    • ID NYC Card for Free Museum Admission
    • Where to Donate Goods or Volunteer

NYC on the Cheap

Get More New York City for Less Money

  • Aways
    Free
    • Best FREE Things to Do in New York City
    • FREE Museum Admission by Borough
    • FREE Museum Admission by Day of Week
    • NYC Museums With No Admission Fee Ever
    • FREE Tickets to Late Night TV Shows
    • FREE Tickets to Daytime TV Shows
  • Entertainment
    & the Arts
    • Family Fun
    • NYC Discount Tickets
    • Philadelphia Ticket Deals
    • Movies
    • NYC Free: Museum Admission by Day of Week
    • NYC Theater
  • Food & Drink
    Deals
    • Where to Eat in Times Square
    • Best Jewish delis for overstuffed sandwiches
    • All-You-Can-Eat Sushi Deals
    • Best NYC Lobster Restaurants
    • Best Happy Hours
    • Birthday Freebies: Restaurants
    • Daily Deals
  • Shopping
    in NYC
    • Ten Things for $1 in NYC
    • Scam Alert
    • Discounts for Seniors
    • Birthday Freebies: Retail Stores
    • Best Resale Shops
    • Cheapest Gas
  • Things
    to Do
    • Seasonal Events
    • Free & Cheap Weekend Events
    • NYC Historic Homes now Museums
    • Where to See Hamilton in NYC
    • NYC Theater
    • Carousels in All 5 Boros
    • 9/11 Memorial & Museum
    • Events in NYC Parks
    • Get Free Tickets to Late Night TV Shows
    • NYC Festivals
    • Getting Around
  • Family
    Fun
    • Best Musems for Kids in Manhattan
    • Carousels in all 5 Boroughs
  • Crisis
    Resources
  • Scam
    Alert
  • Getaways
    & Travel Deals
  • Free & Cheap
    Events
  • Best FREE Things to Do in NYC
  • NYC Sightseeing and Tours Discounts
  • Ticket Deals
  • Cheapest Gas Prices
  • For NYC Residents
You are here: Home / Grab Bag / Reduce Electricity Use to Save Money & Avoid a Power Outage
← SummerStage Family Day, FREE & Virtually Sun., Aug. 2
NYPL Opens 22 More Branches for Grab & Go Service →

Reduce Electricity Use to Save Money & Avoid a Power Outage

POSTED BY
Evelyn Kanter

how to reduce electricity use and prevent blackouts
With more of us working from home, keeping the kids busy without summer school or camp, we are using more electricity to power our air conditioners, tech gadgets and streaming services.

These easy ways to reduce your electricity use also save money on your bill, and can help avoid a power outage or a full blown black-out, like the one that happened 43 years ago.

The NYC Blackout of July 13/14, 1977, when Con Edison feeders short-circuited following a lightning strike, plunged most of the city into darkness for as long as 48 hours.

NYC blackout of 1977

There also was a brief blackout on July 13, 2019 – ironically, the 42nd anniversary of the 1977 blackout – affecting Manhattan’s West Side, including the theater district.  Power was restored in less than eight hours.

See Also

Staying Safe and Healthy in Extreme Heat

Where to Beat the Heat

NYC Outdoor Swimming Pools Open

 

Tips for Reducing Electricity Use

Unplug

Gadgets such as cellphones and tablet chargers pull electricity even when not in use.  Don’t leave them plugged in unless they are actively recharging a device. 

That includes empty cords dangling from an outlet, waiting for something to charge.

Ditto, unplug the coffee pot, microwave and anything else you can think of when not in use, for the same reason.

According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, such “vampire” and standby power totals as much as 10% of your monthly electric bill.  And who wants vampires in the house.

Sleep

Don’t just walk away from your desktop computer or laptop, put it to sleep.  You’ll extend the life of the electronic device at the same time you save electricity.

Avoid using such heat-making appliances as dishwashers and washing machines during the hottest part of the day.

Use the ‘energy saver’ setting on the dishwasher to disable the heated drying cycle and let the dishes dry with the accumulated heat inside the dishwasher.

Close the Blinds

All that sunshine, especially in rooms facing south and west, heat up the room and make your air conditioner work harder, so close the blinds or shades, at least part way.

how to save money on electricityAdjust the Thermostat to 78

Each degree below 78 will increase your energy use by 3-4%. Raise the thermostat and lower your bill.

Also, don’t leave your air conditioner running when nobody is home. Why cool an empty house?

Clean the air conditioner filter regularly. A clogged filter makes the air conditioner work harder.

Wash it off in the bathtub, and be sure it’s completely dry before you put it back into the air conditioner.

Use Cold Water

Take a shower instead of turning up the AC.

Use the cold water cycle on the washing machine.

And drink lots of cold water to replace the liquids you sweat out.

NYCOTC Editor Evelyn Kanter visited Namibia recently,

a desert country where water is precious.

Click here to read what I learned about how conserve water

Anywhere

These money saving, power saving tips work anywhere, in Con Edison territory or not.

This was posted originally in 2015 and is updated regularly, including for 2020

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Posted by Evelyn Kanter on July 31, 2020 | Updated August 2, 2020 Filed Under: Frugal Over Fifty · Grab Bag · NYC Free Tagged With: Con Edison· hurricane season

Reader Interactions

What do you think about this? We welcome your comments. Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Get Free Email Updates

Be the first to know about NYC free and cheap events, discounts and deals by signing up for our FREE enewsletter.

Latest News Trending Now

  • McDonald's Throwback Thursdays: 15-35 Cent Items
    McDonald's Throwback Thursdays: 15-35 Cent Items
  • How to Get a FREE Covid Vaccination in NYC: Update
    How to Get a FREE Covid Vaccination in NYC: Update
  • Jewish Film Festival 2021 at Lincoln Center is Virtual
    Jewish Film Festival 2021 at Lincoln Center is Virtual
  • NYC Free Parking Calendar 2020
    NYC Free Parking Calendar 2020
  • Best Events Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.
    Best Events Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.
  • New Fast Food Deals & Discounts: Krispy Kreme, Quiznos, More
    New Fast Food Deals & Discounts: Krispy Kreme, Quiznos, More
  • 101 FREE & Cheap Things to Do This Week
    101 FREE & Cheap Things to Do This Week
  • NYC Free Parking Calendar 2021
    NYC Free Parking Calendar 2021
  • 5 Best All You Can Eat Sushi Deals in NYC
    5 Best All You Can Eat Sushi Deals in NYC
  • Frugal Over Fifty: Senior Deals & Discounts
    Frugal Over Fifty: Senior Deals & Discounts

Search by Category

Footer

About NYC on the Cheap

NYC does not have to be expensive when you know where the deals and freebies are.

We’re here to help you save money on NYC restaurants, theater, museums, shopping, events and more, as we have been doing since 2010.

Get more NYC for less money with NYCOTC. That’s our motto and we’re sticking to it.

Contact us: info@nyconthecheap.com

Who We Are

Your chief guide is Evelyn Kanter, a lifelong New Yorker and award-winning professional journalist.

Evelyn Kanter is a former consumer reporter for WABC-TV Eyewitness News and WCBS Radio Newsradio 88, the author of several NYC travel guidebooks and mobile apps, and zillions of newspaper and magazine articles, including for the NY Times, NY Post, NY Daily News and New York Magazine. Nobody  can match those NYC credentials.

Disclosure

NYC on the Cheap has an affiliate relationship with several companies which offer discounts and deals on this site.  When you purchase from one of these advertiser links, we earn a small commission.

If you’d like to help keep NYCOTC in the business of helping you save money, this is a great way to do it. It’s a win-win because the direct links save you both time searching for great deals and money.

Best Seller: NYC Guidebook by Evelyn Kanter

100 Things to do in NYC Before You Die

© 2021 NYC on the Cheap. Living On The Cheap® and On the Cheap® are registered trademarks owned by Living On The Cheap Inc. Site design by Five J's Design.
All the stories on our site are protected by copyright and any unauthorized copying is strictly prohibited. Plus, it is just not nice.

Email subscription form header
Subscribe for free to NYC on the Cheap and never miss a free event or discount deal.
Our daily newsletter is the FREE. fast. and easy way to find out about New York City deals, discounts, free events, and more.
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.