Saving money on electricity doesn't have to cost a fortune. Installing some simple devices and turning off others can cut your electric bill by hundreds of dollars a year.
"We built our house 14 years ago, and when we did we tried to be very energy efficient. And yet the technology has changed dramatically since we built the house," said Southlake's Michael Burns.
Burns says his electric bill can run as high as $700 a month during the summer, but a home energy audit by TLC Electrical found Burns could save nearly $400 a year on his electric bill.
"Unplug your devices when they're not being used, install timers where you can, dimmers, those are important," said TLC's Byron Byers.
Motion detectors can turn lights on and off both inside and outside the house.
"It's too hard to go around every night and just unplug everything every night," said Burns. "So having some sort of device to allow me to turn that electric use off, it will benefit me and save me money over the long haul."
Airtight cans for recessed ceiling lights also save money, by cutting down on heating and cooling costs.
But the most simple savings come from just unplugging power-sucking electronics when not in use, including game consoles and cell phone chargers.
"Phone chargers themselves, those actually do draw some electricity just sitting there, not charging a phone. Electrical razors, those draw power. Unplugging those devices would be good as well," said Byers.
Small measures that can add up to big savings.
"A lot of people think that's not really worth it, but throughout a whole home's appliances, that actually can save a significant amoun,t" said Byers.
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