What each move is actually worth
Estimated annual savings for a typical Texas home using ~1,100 kWh/month. Your numbers vary — but the ranking almost never does.
The savings ladder, biggest rung first
Biggest win · 5 minutes
1. Get on the right plan
This is the one nobody selling you a smart thermostat mentions. About half of Texans are on a plan that costs more than the best option for their actual usage. Fixing it takes five minutes and saves the typical household $200–$400 a year — more than every efficiency tip below combined. Price plans at your real kWh, not the advertised 1,000.
Big win · Free
2. Move your thermostat 2–3°
In Texas, cooling is the monster line item — often half the summer bill. Each degree you nudge up in summer (or down in winter) cuts roughly 3% off cooling cost. Set it to 78°F when home, 85°F when out, and you'll bank $100–$180 a year without buying anything.
Solid win · If you have a time-of-use plan
3. Shift heavy loads off peak
If you're on a free-nights or time-of-use plan, run the dryer, dishwasher, and EV charging when power is cheap. Done right this is worth $80–$150/year. Done wrong — running everything during peak on a TOU plan — it costs you more than a flat plan would. The plan and the habit have to match.
Modest win · One evening
4. Tame the water heater
It's the second-biggest energy user in most homes. Drop the setpoint to 120°F, add an insulating blanket to an older tank, and you'll trim $40–$60/year. Real money, low effort — just don't expect it to rival the plan fix.
Only if you have one
5. Cut pool-pump runtime
A single-speed pool pump can quietly eat $50–$100/month in summer. Cut its runtime to 6–8 hours, or swap to a variable-speed pump, and it pays for itself. If you don't have a pool, skip this — most of the internet forgot you exist.
Almost nothing · The one they oversell
6. Phantom loads and chargers
Here's the honest number: unplugging idle chargers and standby electronics saves the average home about $1–$3 a month. Not zero — but not the headline every 'top 10 tips' list makes it. Do it if it's easy. Do not do it instead of fixing your plan.
The tips that are mostly noise
Not lies, exactly — just wildly oversold. Here's what they really save.
- The tip
Unplug every charger and idle device to save big!
The truthAbout $1–$3/month for the whole house. Worth doing, not worth obsessing over.
- The tip
Close vents in unused rooms to redirect air.
The truthIt raises duct pressure and can make your AC work harder — often a net loss, not a saving.
- The tip
Turn the AC off completely when you leave.
The truthIn Texas heat, cooling a re-baked house back down can cost more than holding a higher setpoint. Set back, don’t shut off.
- The tip
A "cheaper rate" plan always means a cheaper bill.
The truthThe advertised rate assumes 1,000 kWh. At your real usage, the "cheap" plan can be the expensive one once fees and credits land.
Straight answers
Getting on the right plan for your actual usage. It beats every efficiency upgrade combined for most Texas homes, it costs nothing, and it takes about five minutes. Efficiency habits help — but they help on top of the right plan, not instead of it.
They save money if they change your behavior — mostly by setting back the temperature while you're out and asleep. You can get 80% of that benefit for free by moving the setpoint yourself. The device is convenience, not magic.
Switching plans isn't an efficiency move — it's a pricing move, and it's usually the biggest one available. Efficiency changes how much power you use; the right plan changes what you pay per unit and in fees. Do both, but do the plan first because it's faster and larger.
The biggest saving takes five minutes and costs nothing.
Before you buy a single gadget, check your plan. Enter your ZIP, we'll price every plan at your real usage, and if you're already on the best one we'll tell you to stay put.