How this list was built
Every figure below is computed at the U.S. average residential rate of 18.34¢ per kWh (June 2026, EIA) using the same appliance data as the calculator. Savings are annual, because that is the scale at which these decisions are actually worth making.
Your own numbers will differ, sometimes by a lot. Multiply everything by roughly 0.7 if you are in a cheap-electricity state like Nevada or Washington, and by about 1.9 in California. The rates by state guide has the exact multiplier for where you live.
Two honest caveats. Several of these only apply if you have the thing in question, so skip freely. And the ranking is by money saved, not by effort, so the top of the list is not necessarily where you should start; the last section covers that.
The ranking
| # | Change | Saves per year | Applies if |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Set back the heating or cooling thermostat | $347 | You have central AC or electric heat |
| 2 | Replace a pre-2005 or garage refrigerator | $147 | You have an old fridge |
| 3 | Unplug an unnecessary second fridge or freezer | $183 | You have one mostly empty |
| 4 | Water heater from 140°F to 120°F | $181 | Electric tank water heater |
| 5 | Shift EV charging to an off-peak rate | $312 | You own an EV and a TOU plan exists |
| 6 | Replace ten incandescent bulbs with LED | $171 | You still have incandescents |
| 7 | Variable-speed pool pump instead of single-speed | $536 | You have a pool |
| 8 | Hot tub: new cover and 4°F lower setpoint | $161 | You have a hot tub |
| 9 | Space heater on a thermostat instead of flat out | $106 | You use one through winter |
| 10 | Full standby and phantom-load cleanup | $72.30 | Everyone |
| 11 | Dryer: clean the vent, use the moisture sensor | $22.89 | Electric dryer |
| 12 | Wash in cold instead of hot | $114 | Electric water heater |
| 13 | Sleep or hibernate a desktop PC overnight | $80.33 | You leave one on |
| 14 | Air-dry dishes instead of heated dry | $23.84 | You run a dishwasher |
| 15 | Unplug chargers and small electronics | $4.82 | Everyone, and barely worth it |
The top of the list, explained
1. Thermostat setbacks. The Department of Energy's long-standing rule of thumb is about 1% off the heating bill for each degree of setback sustained over eight hours, and roughly 3% less cooling energy per degree you raise the summer setpoint. The figure above assumes a 3 kW-equivalent system, three degrees, over a 180-day season. The reason this sits at number one is simple: heating and cooling are typically a third to a half of a household's electricity, so a small percentage of a large number beats a large percentage of a small one.
A schedule beats willpower. If you have ever set the thermostat back and then forgotten to do it the next day, that is the entire argument for a programmable or smart model.
2 and 3. Refrigeration you forgot about. A refrigerator from the 1990s can use 1,200 kWh a year against 400 for a modern one. The replacement pays back in four to six years at the national average rate and faster in expensive states. But the better move, when it applies, is simply unplugging a second fridge that holds a few drinks. That saves the entire running cost for no capital outlay, and many utilities will pay a rebate to haul the old unit away. The refrigerator cost page does the payback arithmetic with your own numbers.
4. Water heater temperature. 120°F is the usual recommendation: hot enough for domestic use and food safety at the tap, cool enough to cut standby loss substantially and reduce scald risk. The saving is real and the change takes five minutes with a screwdriver. If anyone in the household is immunocompromised, read up on Legionella risk at lower tank temperatures before deciding.
5. Charging an EV at the right time. This is not using less, it is buying cheaper. A typical 1,000 miles a month draws about 325 kWh. Moving that from a flat rate to an overnight EV rate of 8 to 12¢ per kWh is worth the figure above, and it is entirely automatic once scheduled in the car or charger. The EV charging page will price your own mileage and rate.
The bottom of the list, and why it is still there
Numbers 13 to 15 are the advice everyone has heard, and they are at the bottom because the arithmetic puts them there. Unplugging every charger in the house saves about $4.82 a year. That is not nothing, but it is less than a tenth of what one thermostat schedule does, for far more daily effort.
The useful version of this advice is targeted rather than universal. A cable box at 18 W, a games console left in instant-on mode and a desktop PC sleeping with its peripherals awake are worth dealing with; the rest of the standby load is noise. The phantom load guide has measured figures per device and a simple rule for deciding what is worth unplugging.
Where to actually start
Ranked by money, the list above is correct. Ranked by effort, start here:
- Settings, which are free and take minutes. Thermostat schedule, water heater to 120°F, fridge to 37°F and freezer to 0°F, eco modes on consoles and TVs, dishwasher heated-dry off.
- Things you already own that are running when they should not. The second fridge. The dehumidifier in a basement that is already dry. The pool pump running twelve hours when eight would do. The outdoor lights on all night rather than on a sensor.
- One-off purchases with a clear payback. A hot tub cover, a smart thermostat, LED bulbs if any incandescents survive, a plug-in meter so you stop guessing.
- Capital replacements, only when the old thing is near end of life anyway. Fridge, water heater, pool pump, dryer. Replacing working equipment purely to save energy rarely pays back as fast as the brochure suggests.
Before any of it, find out what you actually pay per kilowatt-hour. Every figure on this page scales directly with that number, and the one on your bill is often not the one you assume. The bill-reading guide shows where to find it, and the calculator will then price any appliance in your house at your own rate.