The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 6 letter word SOLAR PANELS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
O
L
A
R
P
A
N
E
L
S
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "devices to cut down on energy bills" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case devices to cut down on energy bills = solar panels.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.