By Sofia Yaman · Last updated June 2026 · Based on two years of tracking my electric bill in a small apartment
My first electric bill in Brooklyn shocked me. I was paying $140 a month for a 280 square foot studio with one window air conditioner and a space heater. I thought small apartments were supposed to be cheap to run. I was wrong. Over the next two years, I cut that bill to $65 through a combination of smart habits and cheap devices. None of them required a renovation or a landlord’s permission.
Schedule Everything That Plugs In
I put every major appliance on a schedule using $12 smart plugs. My space heater turns on thirty minutes before I wake up and off when I leave. My window air conditioner starts cooling an hour before I get home, not when I walk through the door. My lamp fades off at midnight so I do not fall asleep with lights on.
The schedule removes human error. I no longer forget to turn things off. I no longer heat an empty apartment. The smart plugs paid for themselves in the first month through reduced waste.
Track the Real Culprits
I bought a $25 energy monitor that plugs into my wall outlet and shows exactly how much power each device draws. The results surprised me. My old refrigerator used three times more electricity than I expected. My gaming console in standby mode cost $8 a month doing nothing. My phone charger plugged in overnight used almost nothing.
I unplugged the gaming console when not in use. I adjusted my refrigerator temperature from the coldest setting to the middle setting. I stopped worrying about phone chargers. The monitor helped me focus on changes that actually mattered instead of myths about phantom power.
Use Natural Temperature When Possible
In spring and fall, I open windows at night to cool the apartment naturally, then close them in the morning to trap the cool air. This delays turning on the air conditioner by two or three weeks each year. In winter, I lower my thermostat at night and add a blanket instead of heating the entire apartment while I sleep.
I also use thermal curtains on my largest window. They cost $30 and reduced heat loss by enough that my space heater runs 30% less. The curtains look like regular drapes but have a thin insulating layer that blocks drafts.
LED Everything
I replaced every bulb in my apartment with LEDs over one weekend. The upfront cost was $40 for eight bulbs. My lighting electricity dropped by 75%. LEDs also last years longer than incandescents, so I have not bought a replacement bulb in eighteen months.
I use warm white bulbs in living spaces and neutral white in my desk area. The color does not affect cost, but it affects how much light I need. A well-placed warm bulb at the right brightness feels brighter than a harsh overhead light, so I use fewer lamps overall.
The Habits That Matter Most
After two years of tracking, the biggest savings came from: running the dishwasher only when full, air-drying clothes instead of using the dryer, and turning off my computer monitor instead of letting it sleep. These three habits alone cut $25 from my monthly bill.
Smart devices help, but habits drive the savings. A smart thermostat saves nothing if you set it to 75 degrees in winter. A smart plug saves nothing if you schedule it to run all day. Technology amplifies good habits. It cannot replace them.
For more ideas on smart devices that fit a beginner’s budget, see my guide to smart home devices for beginners.
About the author: Sofia Yaman is the founder of Yasamsitem Home. She tracked her electric bill for two years while testing energy-saving habits in small apartments.
Have an energy question? Email sofia@yasamsitem.com.
Sofia Yaman has been figuring out how to make small spaces work since 2019 — first in a 280 sq ft studio in Brooklyn with a cat and too many books, now in a slightly larger rental where she still tests every storage hack and smart gadget before recommending it. She believes organized should never mean boring.
