Submitted by Zach D. of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo:

Electricity bills. One of the biggest utility expenses for most Americans. Although it is essential, there are some very easy ways we can lower our electricity cost and use. It can be as simple as turning off the lights in the house or unplugging appliances/devices that use electricity while turned off. Or, it can be taken to the next level and be as serious as planting trees for shade or installing solar.

The are many conventional ways to cut back on electricity use. One of the most popular is switching to fluorescent light bulbs instead of the classic incandescent light bulbs. According to TheSimpleDollar.com, if both fluorescent and incandescent light bulbs are used for 25,000 hours at a rate of 12 cents per kilowatt hour, a consumer will pay about $180 for an incandescent light bulb where as they would only pay about $42 if they used a fluorescent.

Although 25,000 hours is a long time, about three years to be exact, think about how many lights you have in your house. My guess is about five in the kitchen, at least one in every bathroom and bedroom, probably a few in the living room/dining room, and then a few extra here and there for a total of at least 20 lights. Over a three-year span, you could save $2,760! That is a good chunk of change that could be used to help send a kid to college, or start a scholarship fund.

A very tedious but very efficient way to cut electricity use is by simply unplugging unused appliances or appliances that don?t need to be plugged in during the night. The energy used by these appliances even when not in use and thought to be ?powered off? is called ?phantom power?. HowStuffWorks.com says that ?phantom power? is responsible for 100 billion kilowatt hours of energy, equivalent to about 10 billion dollars. The website also states that by simply unplugging a VCR from your basement, which most kids these days have no idea what that even is, can save you roughly $12 over the year. Unplugging these types of appliances/devices can save you about 5-10% on your energy bill. Although it is not going to make you rich, unplugging unused appliances can put more money in your pocket.

One of the more abstract ways someone could definitely reduce their energy use is to get rid of their air conditioning. Coming from Bakersfield, California, this is almost a definite no, but it is an option. To help with this, one could plant trees to provide more shade for their house, reducing the need for air conditioning. According to Energy.gov, evapotranspiration, which is the release of water vapor from trees and other plants, and shade can actually reduce the temperature of your home by nine degrees!  Whether that is from 100 degrees to 91, like in Bakersfield, or from 84 to 75, this is a huge difference that will surely keep you cooler and reduce your electricity costs.

One final way to reduce energy use is through solar. This is by far the most expensive start to the solution, but does have the biggest impact on how much energy you use. This is, along with the most effective, probably the most common type of energy conservation. Many individual homes, apartment complexes and even school districts are switching to solar energy.

There are many things people can do to save energy. Whether it is changing a light bulb, unplugging appliances, planting trees, or installing solar, every change makes a difference. Each one of these changes allows for people to save money and donate to a poor college student.