Should I Lower My Electric Bill Before Installing Solar?
Yes, when it's practical. Every kilowatt-hour you stop consuming before you size a system is a kilowatt-hour your solar panels don't need to generate, which typically means fewer panels, lower upfront cost, and a better return on the solar investment.
This guide walks through every step of load reduction, from no-cost behavior changes to major efficiency investments. The right stopping point depends on your home's specific situation, and not every step is right for every home.
What No-Cost Steps Lower My Electric Bill First?
How Much Do Thermostat Adjustments Save?
Heating and cooling typically account for the largest portion of a home's energy use. Small changes to your thermostat settings (lowering the heat setpoint by a few degrees at night, raising the cooling setpoint when no one's home) can reduce HVAC energy use with no equipment cost.
How Much Do LED Bulbs Save Over Incandescent?
If you still have incandescent or halogen bulbs anywhere in your home, replacing them with LEDs is a cost-effective change with a payback typically measured in months. LEDs use 70 to 90% less energy for the same light output.
How Much Do Vampire Loads Cost Me?
Electronics and appliances draw power even when "off." Televisions, game consoles, cable boxes, and desktop computers are the biggest offenders. Smart power strips or manual unplugging can reduce standby consumption. The impact is small per device but adds up across a modern household.
What Low-Cost Upgrades ($50 to $500) Cut Energy Use?
Is a Smart Thermostat Worth the Cost?
A programmable thermostat lets you automate the setback schedules that manual adjustment requires discipline to maintain. A smart thermostat can learn your patterns and optimize automatically. These typically pay back within a single heating season for most Illinois homes.
Can I Air Seal My Own Home?
Weatherstripping around exterior doors, caulk around window frames, and foam sealant around utility penetrations are inexpensive materials and can be installed by most homeowners. They address the most accessible air leaks without needing a contractor.
Does Regular HVAC Maintenance Really Cut My Bill?
A dirty filter forces your HVAC system to work harder. Replacing filters regularly and scheduling annual maintenance keeps the system running at its rated efficiency. A professional tune-up typically costs $100 to $200 and is worth doing on any system over 5 years old that hasn't been recently serviced.
What Mid-Range Investments ($500 to $5,000) Pay Off?
Is Adding Attic Insulation Worth It?
Most building professionals consider attic insulation one of the highest-ROI efficiency investments available. Heat rises, and in winter, poorly insulated attics are where a significant amount of heat escapes. Blowing additional insulation into the attic to meet modern R-value recommendations for Illinois (R-49 to R-60 is commonly cited) is typically a one-day project.
Is Professional Air Sealing Worth the Cost?
A building performance contractor with a blower door can find and seal the leaks that DIY work misses: penetrations into the attic, gaps in the wall-ceiling juncture, and bypass paths in mechanical chases. Professional air sealing combined with attic insulation is one of the most impactful efficiency investments for older Illinois homes.
Does Duct Sealing Make a Real Difference?
If your home has forced-air heating and cooling, leaky ductwork can be a significant source of energy loss: conditioned air escapes into unconditioned spaces (attics, crawlspaces, garages) before it reaches the rooms you want to heat or cool. Duct sealing (professionally done with Aeroseal or mastic sealant) typically costs $1,000 to $3,000 and can improve system efficiency meaningfully.
When Is a Major Investment ($5,000+) Worth It?
Is a High-Efficiency HVAC Replacement Worth It?
If your heating and cooling system is more than 15 to 20 years old, a modern high-efficiency replacement will use significantly less energy to produce the same comfort. HVAC replacement is disruptive and expensive but has a long service life over which the efficiency gain pays back.
Should I Replace My Gas Furnace With a Heat Pump?
Replacing a gas furnace with a cold-climate heat pump shifts your heating from gas to electricity, and does it at 2 to 4 times the efficiency of electric resistance heating. If you're also planning solar, the heat pump adds electrical load that the solar system can offset. The combined economics of eliminating gas while solar offsets the electrical cost can be compelling. See our guide on heat pumps and solar.
Does Window Replacement Lower My Energy Load?
For homes with old single-pane or early double-pane windows, replacing them with high-performance modern windows reduces your heating load. See our guide on windows and energy load.
Does Insulated Siding Reduce My Energy Load?
For homes with poorly insulated walls, insulated siding provides continuous exterior insulation. See our guide on siding and solar sizing.
Is Geothermal Worth the Higher Upfront Cost?
The most efficient heating and cooling system available, using the stable temperature of the ground as a heat source and sink. Higher upfront cost than air-source heat pumps, but highest long-term efficiency. See SPM's geothermal service.
When Should I Move On to Solar?
After you've addressed the efficiency opportunities that make sense for your home, the solar proposal is built around your actual, post-efficiency usage. The system is smaller, less expensive, and accurately sized for the home as it will perform for the next 25 years.
This isn't about delaying solar unnecessarily. It's about making sure the solar investment is the right size. For some homes, the efficiency work is quick and the solar project follows immediately. For others, the efficiency work represents a year or two of phased projects before solar goes in. SPM will help you sequence it correctly for your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to do all of these steps before going solar?
No. The goal is to address the efficiency opportunities that are realistic for your home and timeline, not to complete every possible upgrade before touching solar. Some homes are already efficient and can proceed directly to solar. Others have meaningful opportunities that should come first. SPM evaluates your specific situation and recommends a sequence that makes sense.
How do I know which efficiency upgrades are worth doing?
A home energy assessment can prioritize them by impact and cost. SPM conducts this assessment as part of the solar consultation process so you have the information to make smart decisions about sequencing before any project begins.
How much smaller can a solar system be if I cut my usage first?
It scales directly with the kWh you remove: the more usage the no- and low-cost steps above eliminate, the fewer panels your solar system needs to cover it, which lowers the upfront cost proportionally. SPM calculates the exact panel-count difference for your home before you commit to a system size.
Will these efficiency upgrades lower my ComEd bill even without solar?
Yes. The no-cost and low-cost steps (thermostat setbacks, LED lighting, air sealing) typically shave a noticeable amount off a ComEd bill on their own, independent of whether or when you add solar, because they reduce the kWh ComEd bills you for each month.
Does cutting my usage first actually shorten my solar payback?
Yes. Most SPM systems already pay for themselves in about 7 to 10 years once Illinois Shines SREC income and $0 down financing are factored in, and a smaller, right-sized system (because you cut usage first) lowers the upfront cost that payback is measured against, so the payback timeline holds or improves rather than stretching out.
How much do SPM customers typically save per month after solar?
SPM customers save an average of about $210 per month on their electric bills. Actual savings depend on your system size, current usage, and net metering, which is why efficiency work first matters: every kWh you stop using before sizing the system is a kWh that doesn't need to be generated (or paid for) at all.
If I add battery backup, does reducing my usage first help there too?
Yes. A single battery (10 to 13 kWh) typically powers essential loads like lights, the refrigerator, and outlets for 10 to 24 hours during an outage, depending on what it's carrying. A lower baseline household load (from the efficiency steps above) means the same battery covers your essentials for longer during a ComEd outage.