There are plenty of articles that claim you can cobble together “6 energy savings tips” or “use one magic device” to cut your electric bill by 75 percent. Well, we have good news and bad news.

The good news is that it’s totally possible to lower your electricity bill by 75% or more. The bad news is that it’s not as easy as changing a few light bulbs and unplugging appliances (as other articles suggest).

Making deep cuts to your electricity bill requires a combination of reducing your consumption and the price you pay for electricity. So, in this article, we’ll explore: 

• Why cutting consumption alone won’t lower your bill by 75%
• How to actually cut your electric bill by 75%

Let’s start with a quick look at why cutting 75% of your electricity consumption simply isn’t realistic or effective.

Why focusing only on consumption won’t cut your your electric bill by 75%

There are no fewer than eight articles on Google (not including this one) that offer a path to reducing your electricity bill by 75%, all of which are basically lists of ways to reduce your electricity consumption. Not a single one provides math showing how to get to 75% reduction or even considers reducing the price you pay for electricity. 

They also gloss over the fact that cutting 75% of your electricity consumption is unrealistic, inefficient, and downright miserable. 

The chart below shows the electricity usage breakdown for the average household in the US. Even if you eliminated the top 13 items on the list – from air conditioning to refrigeration to running the dishwasher – you’d still only achieve 67% reduction. 

So, cutting your bill by 75% by reducing consumption alone isn’t realistic, unless your plan is to have a hot, dark house, dirty clothes, cold showers, unrefrigerated food and no screens whatsoever. 

But that doesn’t mean you can’t make meaningful cuts to your consumption that can help you get to 75% bill reduction, as we’ll see below.

Related reading: How To Lower Your Electric Bill With Solar Panels

How to cut your electricity bill by 75 percent

Cutting your electricity bill by 75% requires a combination of cutting consumption, sealing your home envelope, and reducing the cost per kilowatt-hour of your essential electricity needs.

Reducing the price you pay per kWh of electricity is far more effective for lowering your costs than cutting your consumption 1 kWh at a time by unplugging appliances and other such strategies. Many homeowners overlook reducing their electricity prices because, frankly, it wasn’t an option until very recently. However, with utility rates rising and robust incentives, home solar is an effective way to reduce the price you pay for electricity and, by extension, your electric bill.

For example, the average price of grid electricity reached 17 cents per kWh in June 2023, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, homeowners that purchase solar with cash and claim the 30% federal solar tax credit can typically produce their own electricity at around 8 cents per kWh.

That’s a 53% decrease in the price you pay for electricity.

And if you live in a state with electricity prices closer to 25 cents/kWh – like California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, or New York – going solar could easily reduce your price per kWh by 65% or more. 

Slashing your rate adds up to major energy cost savings over time.

The chart below shows the cumulative cost for four different methods of buying 750 kWh of electricity per month. Accumulating solar savings can take time, but in the long run the average homeowner can reduce their electricity costs by:

• 67% if they pay cash and collect the 30% tax credit
• 47-56% if they take out a loan and collect the 30% tax credit

With solar providing 50-65% of the electricity bill reduction, you only need a few effective and realistic conservation strategies to get to 75%.

Here’s a pretty simple path to cut your electricity usage by 20% and achieve 75% bill savings overall.

How to cut your electricity usage by 20%

The greatest opportunity to conserve electricity is by setting your thermostat 7-10 degrees higher or lower for 8 hours a day. So, if you typically have your house at 72 degrees, set the thermostat to 79-82 degrees in the summer when (and if) everyone is out of the house. In the winter, set it down to 62-65 degrees.

If you do this consistently, you can save up to 10% on your electricity bill, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE).

The next biggest opportunity is to unplug appliances when they’re not in use. According to the DOE, standby power (aka “vampire power”) accounts for 5-10% of household electricity usage – which is a substantial chunk.

You can lower this drain on your consumption by unplugging appliances, using smart plugs and/or power strips, and upgrading to energy efficient appliances. Some key appliances to focus on are:

• Bathroom: Hair dryers, curling irons, electric shavers
• Kitchen: Microwaves, toaster ovens, coffee makers
• Living room: Older entertainment devices (cable boxes, DVRs, DVD players)
• Office: Laptops, PCs, gaming consoles
• Bedroom: Phone chargers, lamps, fans

Let’s say this reduces your consumption by another 5% – you’ve only got 5% left to go!

From here, you have plenty of options:

• Lower the setting on your water heater from 140 to 120 degrees
• Increase the temperature on in your fridge up to 38 degrees (but never higher than 40!)
• Seal windows and doors to reduce heating and cooling costs even further
• Hang dry clothes to prevent running the clothes dryer
• Upgrade to LED bulbs and energy efficient appliances

I know, I know… I’m starting to sound like those other articles. But now we’re only talking about a 5% reduction instead of a 75% reduction. 

Solar is key to cutting your electricity bill

We are all for conserving electricity to reduce your energy costs and carbon footprint. However, it’s unrealistic to think you can cut your electric bill by 75% only by reducing your consumption.

Slashing your bill that far requires the two-pronged approach of lowering your usage and the price you pay per kWh of electricity – which you can do by installing solar panels. Home solar is the most effective way to reduce your electricity bill and gives homeowners unprecedented control over the price they pay for electricity. 

Connect with an Energy Advisor to see how far you can slash your rate!

Homeowners across the US are receiving the highest electricity bills of their lives (so far), thanks to a combination of rapid utility rate hikes and record-breaking summer heat waves that are driving up electricity usage.

With electricity more expensive than ever, it’s normal to wonder how many kilowatt-hours (kWh) is normal to consume in a day so you can accurately budget for your energy costs and make a plan to lower them.

In this article, we’ll explore average daily electricity consumption in the US and how it differs based on your home size, family size, and location. Let’s get started with a baseline so we understand what’s high or low.

How many kWh per day is normal?

The average US household electricity consumption is 29 kWh per day, according to the most recent data from the US Energy Information Administration, which means the average kWh usage per month is around 870 kWh.

However, it’s worth noting that daily electricity consumption varies substantially based on the location, size, and number of members in a home.

For example, in the hot sticky South, it’s normal to use around 37 kWh per day to power your air conditioning day and night for much of the year. Meanwhile, it’s normal to around 23 kWh per day in the Northeast and West, where more moderate climates require less energy for heating and cooling.

Of course, climate conditions and daily electricity usage vary within each region. Use the map below to see the average daily kWh consumed in each household in your state.

Find your average kilowatt usage per day

Now that we have a baseline average for kWh usage per day, let’s see how yours compares. Start by finding a recent electricity bill (check your mail and email inbox, or log into your electric utility account). On your bill, you’ll likely see a “Historical Usage Graph” that shows a year’s worth of electricity consumption, like the example below:

Add up your total electricity usage over the last year and divide by 365 to get your average kWh usage per day. Make sure to get at least 12 months’ worth of data so you are accounting for seasonal highs and lows throughout the year!

Once you know your kWh per day average, you can see how it compares based on your state, square footage, and number of household members. Check out the charts below to compare.

How many kWh does a house use per day?

The average US household uses around 29 kWh per day. However, this can vary by the size of the home, as bigger homes require more energy for heating, cooling, and lighting and may have additional electrical systems like multiple refrigerators, TVs, pools, and hot tubs.

In fact, the average electricity usage for a 3,000+ square foot home is over 42 kWh per day, which is over twice the average usage of homes less than 1,000 square feet.

The median home size in the US is 2,000 square feet which averages around 30-33 kWh of electricity usage per day.

Related reading: Which Celebrity Mansion Could Offset the Most CO2 With Solar Panels?

Is 40 kWh per day a lot?

40 kWh of electricity usage per day is much higher than the average household consumption of 29 kWh per day. However, it’s quite normal for homes with 3,000+ square feet and/or five or more members (especially in the South!)

The chart below shows the average daily electricity consumption based on the number of people in a home. 

Each additional member of the house represents another person doing laundry, charging devices, using hot water, leaving lights on, and demanding the home stay at just the right temperature. Once you reach five members, it’s quite normal to have daily consumption near or above 40 kWh.

It’s important to note that having high daily consumption – like 40 kWh – presents a massive opportunity for savings by going solar. Like many products, pricing for solar projects (measured in dollars per watt) gets better as the project gets larger. This allows you to drop your cost per unit of electricity lower than homes with smaller solar projects and, by using more kWh, you have more opportunities to save.

How many kWh per day is normal in summer?

Electricity consumption ranges from 20-50 kWh per day in the summer, largely based on how hot it gets and how much A/C you use.  At the national average, summer electricity usage is roughly 20% higher than the average daily consumption throughout the year. As such, electricity bills tend to be higher as well, especially in areas with time-of-use rates that increase during the summer months.

The chart below shows the average kWh per day in summer for each census zone. Use this map to see which census zone you are in.

The West South Central states of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana have the highest summer electricity usage at 53 kWh per day, which, at 12 cents per kWh, translates to $190 per month and nearly $575 over the summer.

Lower your cost per kWh with solar

Everyone’s daily electricity usage is different and “normal” is whatever you want it to be. Electricity consumption can be hard to control since so much of it is tied to heating and cooling and is dependent on climate conditions. 

However, you can control the price you pay per kWh of electricity by installing solar panels. Connect with an Energy Advisor to explore your savings potential.